By Chance to Intention
by oihermione
Summary: 12 years have passed since the war ended. Hermione Granger is now a divorced mother of a 10-year-old son, working from home as an author. Severus Snape has secluded himself in the muggle world with his 9-year-old daughter. When their children's paths cross, how will they react to their friendship? A chance encounter may end up saving them both in more ways than one.
1. Chapter 1: Chance Encounters

This is post-war, Severus survives, mostly HBP and DH compliant, the only significant changes made were the couples in the end. Harry will be with an OC of mine, Ron is already remarried to a girl that was at Hogwarts a few years below him, she wasn't mentioned in detail in the books, but I'll be using her name. Ginny and Luna are married and have adopted kids, and the rest of J.K. Rowling's canon couples are used here. (e.g. Bill/Fleur, Percy/Audrey, George/Angelina, Neville/Hannah, Draco/Astoria)

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 **Chapter 1** : Chance Encounters

" _It's such a happiness when good people get together._ "  
― Jane Austen, Emma

 **Dec. 3rd, 2010**

She sighed in relief, she felt more relaxed than she had in weeks as she meandered up the aisle of books in the small muggle library of Cokeworth. It was apparently a newer addition to the town, having overheard a few people discussing it while she was at the grocer's. Having just moved here with her son Henry in November, she was just getting the chance to peruse it on the quiet December afternoon.

Grabbing a book at random and flipping it over, Hermione read the summary quickly before shaking her head slightly and putting it back into its place on the shelf. Turning around, she scanned the opposite side of the row, when a title suddenly caught her eye. It was a book she had not read since she was quite young. _I'm not even sure I own this book, which is shocking in itself._

Her thoughts were suddenly reminiscent of her seemingly distant childhood. She had always felt beyond her years, but it was not until she had hit 30 last year that the years seemed to catch up with her. She had not changed much, her hair still mostly untamable, but she often resorted to pulling it back at the nape of her neck or into a plait. There was the slightest impression of smile lines on her face. The only other distinct change was her use of a pair of square reading glasses. Although she knew it was something easily remedied with her magic, she truly enjoyed wearing them.

She paused when reaching for the memorable text, having heard the rustle of pages being turned nearby. Shaking her head, she knew there was no reason to feel as though she was being watched, and her thoughts soothed her. _No one from the wizarding world would possibly come here to find me. Besides Harry or Ginny maybe._ Grabbing the text, she opened it and began to read it, walking back up the row without looking up.

Finding her way to a cushioned chair nearby, she looked around for her ten-year-old son. Spotting him discussing something at length with a young girl around his age, she sat down where she would have a good view of them. As she became consumed with her book, she almost didn't notice the pair walking up to her once she was three chapters in.

Marking her place, she sat up, looking at her son's smart grin and curly head of dark hair. He hardly resembled his father, aside from being on the taller side for a ten-year-old and a spatter of freckles on his face.

"Mum, this is my new friend Katherine. I wanted to invite her over for dinner to show her my other books at home. Is it okay if she asks her dad?"

Hermione admired her son's friendliness, "It's wonderful to meet you, Katherine. I'd be delighted to have you over for dinner. If your father needs to speak with me first, just let me know."

The girl smiled, shook Hermione's hand, and nodded before walking away with Henry. Hermione returned to her book, considering the encounter. _He's never invited any friends over before… I wonder why this one is different. He wants to show her his books. That must be it, she's a bibliophile like us._ Marvelling in her thoughts, she had hardly gone back to reading before she heard the young Katherine's voice somewhere behind her.

"She's right over here daddy, the pretty lady in the green jumper!"

 _Pretty lady, how sweet of the girl._ As her son came into view from the corner of her eye, she marked her place again and turned, halfway standing, to introduce herself to the girl's father.

Everything around them seemed to go still, except the two kids who were fidgeting nearby.

Hermione finally felt able to draw herself up to her full height when the man standing across from her said, "Miss Granger?" in a bemused voice, but seemed slightly tense.

 _Oh dear. I'm really not imagining the man standing in front of me, am I. He has a daughter?_

She gave him the smallest of smiles, looked down at her son and said with an encouraging tone, "Why don't you and Katherine go find me a couple books to take home, Henry?" _Best to remove them from this situation to make it slightly less awkward._ As the kids, who had been watching the encounter confusedly, slowly wandered away, Hermione held out her hand for him to shake.

 _I feel like an imbecile, reaching for Severus Snape's hand, I mean really._

"I'm not sure exactly how to address you now, I'd prefer not to call you sir or Professor, but Snape sounds a little unfriendly. Regardless though, you may call me Hermione."

 _Unlikely, but a polite offer I think._

The man shifted uncomfortably before taking her hand. "I apologize, I have not happened upon anyone from the wizarding world here before." Pausing, he let go of her hand. "Though, I am curious at what brings you here, if you were not expecting to see me either." _He almost sounds suspicious._ Her thoughts focused on his response as he continued, "Ministry employees tend to owl me before visiting, and they typically do not come to find me in a public place."

Hermione raised a brow, but sat back down in the cushioned chair, inviting him to do the same in the chair next to her. _Might as well make myself comfortable for this superiorly awkward conversation._ As he sat down slowly, she spoke.

"Well, my being here has nothing to do with you, I promise." _I can't have him think of me as a stalker._ "I confess I had no clue any magical people lived in this area, honestly." She eyed him as he seemed to digest her words. "Though, if it comforts you in knowing, I am no longer a ministry employee."

He seemed to take that with a slight shock but nodded slightly. "As to what actually brings me to Cokeworth, it is a little complicated but the short of it is, my grandmother left me a home in her will. She passed away a few months ago. Henry and I just moved in last month." _More information than he probably needed, or likely even wanted, but it warranted a small explanation._

As he contemplated his response, Hermione looked at the man thoughtfully. He had practically disappeared following the end of the war. The ministry had only seen him a few times in the years following to testify against captured Death Eaters and other Voldemort sympathizers. He truly looked much younger than she remembered. His days as a spy finally behind him, his physique and overall complexion seemed to resemble a much healthier man. Though his hair was still long, it looked much cleaner and well-kept. His attire was not entirely unexpected, but she was still startled to see him in muggle clothing. Of course, it had to be black slacks and a black sweater.

"I'm sorry to hear of your loss," he began, sounding genuine, "and am I to assume you left your job at the ministry? I hate to think anyone there would willingly fire a member of the Golden Trio," he made an odd, twisted face at those words, but sounded much like his older, sarcastic self.

 _Well, that was more like the man she remembered._

"Thank you for your condolences," she smiled broadly, "And I think that may be a compliment if I'd ever heard one from you." She had to chuckle at his almost scandalized expression after that. _I better not push him too much, though he seems a little more open to conversation than I remember._

"You're correct, I did quit. I'm essentially freelancing as an author for now. I've published a few books about this and that, mostly history research I've conducted between the wizarding world and muggle worlds. It supports me and Henry, which is all I need as of now."

He nodded in agreement. "I am in a similar way, I sell my privately made potions and it does well to support Katherine and me" _That was interesting, I suppose it should be obvious he was working from home, otherwise the wizarding world would have hounded him regularly._ There was an extended pause between the two before he looked around, presumably to check if the kids were in earshot. "Has something happened to Mr. Weasley, I admit I rarely give attention to the Prophet in recent ti-." He trailed off as Hermione cut in.

"As you should, it's still rubbish, typically," she almost snapped in response. _I can't believe he brought up Ron._ She schooled her expression while keeping eye contact with the man. "He's doing fine, he and his wife just had their second child together actually." His brow raised ever so slightly. Feeling as though another question was coming, she clarified. "Ron and I divorced a little over six years ago."

He showed no emotion in his response, "I apologize for bringing it up." _The old Professor I knew would have been extremely sarcastic in response to this, something definitely must have changed him... Ah. That's it._ She noticed him looking pensively at the kids from afar, "Though it seems your son is faring well."

"Oh, he's doing amazing." She smiled as they both looked in the children's direction, where they were each contemplating separate books. "He still sees Ron every other weekend, if Ron isn't too busy with the shop. He has school during the week here, so he stays with me the most."

He looked at her, slightly surprised, "You have him enrolled in a muggle school." _That wasn't a question._

She felt comfortable enough to laugh a little at this. "Don't patronise me, I was enrolled in a muggle school before I received my letter."

He shook his head, "No, I quite understand, I've been homeschooling Katherine in various muggle subjects. I would send her, but I had considered the possibility of her having her magic act up in front of muggles." _Ah yes, I'd considered that too, but Henry seems to be mostly calm and not prone to outbursts of magic._ "I was also enrolled in a muggle school before getting my letter, at my father's enforcing." After a moment's pause, he added hesitantly, "In fact, it was the local primary school."

"You grew up here?" _What else am I going to learn about this man in this short encounter…_

As he nodded, she continued, "I can understand homeschooling. I wanted Henry to make friends his own age, that weren't his cousins." She paused at this. "Though, he's never invited anyone for dinner before." As though sensing that she had a question coming, possibly because she sat up straighter or sat her book down on the table in front of them, he leaned forward slightly to listen to her closely. "Is it possible magical children can sense another's affinity for magic?"

It was as if a younger Hermione had taken over her general demeanor, she was sitting up as if in a classroom, having posed a question to the old Professor, and was waiting patiently for an answer. _Some things never change I suppose._

He seemed to ponder her question for a moment before responding, "It's possible. As adults, we can often sense certain types of magic, so it is plausible that we can do so unknowingly as children," he smirked as he looked at the kids who seemed to be making their way back with a handful of books each. "However, I am inclined to think your son has never met someone that is on his level cognitively. If he is anything like his mother, his knowledge should be on par with Katherine's."

 _That was a completely unexpected response._

Laughing lightly at the underhanded compliment, she faced the kids expectantly. "Well, what have you two got for me?"

They laid out their choices on the table in front of her. As she read over each title, she saw Snape doing the same out of the corner of her eye.

"I told Katherine the kind of books you read, she said her dad liked the same kinds, so she grabbed some she knows he likes, and I grabbed a few more."

She chanced a look up at Snape at this, he was still looking at the books but there seemed to be a little more color in his face. _Oh, poor man._ She kept her grin to herself, she assumed he was embarrassed because a few of the books his daughter had chosen were romances she had heard of or read herself.

"Well, I'll narrow it down some for you, I've read these five already." She stacked the five to the side, which left four books. "I only want to check out two, so you can each pick one." Henry made his choice while Katherine grabbed two and looked at her father questioningly. He glanced over at Hermione, then down at the two books, and pushed the one on the left towards his daughter. Katherine picked it up smiling and handed it to Hermione. Henry handed her his choice and she began to read out the two titles.

"Remainder by Tom McCarthy and A Room with a View by E.M. Forster." She smiled at the two children, "These seem like good choices, you can put the rest of these back before we go, can't you Henry?"

Snape looked at his daughter, "Katherine, you should help him." The girl nodded, "Yes daddy, I will."

 _What a polite young girl. Her manners seem to surpass that of any of Henry's Weasley cousins. Though that must be because of the man who raised her, I suppose._

As they gathered the books, Hermione looked over at the man, he was sitting straight up in the cushioned chair. He somehow managed to find a way to make a comfy chair seem uncomfortable. _Maybe they would both enjoy a social night. He would probably say no, but it was worth asking for Henry's sake, in case he would not allow his daughter over without his supervision._ She steeled herself before allowing herself to speak again, "You know, you should both come over for dinner. You're both in luck for tonight, I may not be the best cook, but I am great at ordering in."

 _What on earth had possessed her to add that last bit? Gods Hermione._

He considered her offer for what seemed like a long moment before answering hesitantly, "I think that would be acceptable. I'm rather taken at Katherine making a friend as well, so I'd like to see where it goes from here."

 _Ah, he's in the same boat. He probably doesn't want to come at all, he just doesn't trust me alone with her, I'm sure._

Hermione laughed, "Well, I assure you Henry is quite the gentleman in comparison to his father, especially for a nine-year-old." She reached in the bag hanging off her chair and pulled out a pen and scrap of paper, scribbling something on it before handing it to him.

"My address. You can come around six if that is suitable for the both of you."

He read over the paper, "You actually aren't too far from Katherine and me, we're around the corner, about three blocks up I believe."

 _Neighbours with Professor Snape. What would Harry and Ron say?_

She was amazed for a moment, "It's so interesting to think you grew up so near my father. Though he is quite a bit older than you, I would guess."

"It really is a small world," he conceded.

The kids returned, each holding onto the books they had selected for themselves. Snape stood as Katherine handed him her selections. "Well, I suppose we will see you both this evening, Henry, Hermione," he nodded at them both, before adding in an afterthought, "and you can both call me Severus."

 _That was the most unexpected thing she had heard come out of his mouth during this entire encounter. Severus. Calling him Severus? Now I really wonder what Harry and Ron would say…_

As the two walked away, Henry sat next to his mother. "Did you already know him, mum?"

She gave her son a calculating expression before explaining, "Honey, that was Severus Snape. My potions professor from when I was in school and one of the main heroes of the war."

Henry gaped at her. _I've given him a PG rundown of the war, of course he knows who Severus Snape is._

"B-but… he… so he's a… wait, Katherine's a witch?" Suddenly he looked extremely excited, "So I can talk to her about magic! This is great mum!"

Hermione was pleased with her son's quick processing of information. "She is, and I quite agree, I'm glad you've made a friend around here who is also magical." Smiling at him, "We better get home. I need to clean up some before getting dinner."

 _I can't believe he didn't have any other questions… yet._

They made their way to check out their books, while her thoughts ran wild with a multitude of questions regarding the encounter. _Who was Katherine's mother, and why didn't Harry ever mention Sna-Severus having a daughter?_

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As he walked out of the library of Cokeworth with his daughter's hand in his own, he pondered the encounter. He had just been almost cordial with someone he once despised. Halting at the crosswalk, he cursed silently. _I just accepted a dinner invitation from Granger._ The thought taunted him, as though it was his fault. _You've grown soft over the years, obviously._

Looking down at the dark, wavy hair of his daughter as they crossed the street, the slightly more optimistic side of his head cut in. _Of course you've grown soft, and for good reason._ With a half-smile at his daughter, they waited together patiently at the bus stop nearby, until Katherine shook him from his thoughts. She must have been waiting for him to say something to her about the encounter, otherwise, she might not have looked so frustrated when she asked her question.

"Are you going to tell me how you knew Hermione, daddy?"

He groaned to himself inwardly, _of course she wants to know._ His daughter's curiosity for the unknown matched his own. Considering his response carefully, he took on a more casual tone.

"She was a student of mine when I was a professor at Hogwarts. She did a great deal to help end the war as well."

"Was she a good student?"

He almost choked at this. _Gods, what on earth would make her ask that sort of question._

"She was. Some would say one of the brightest that Hogwarts has turned out."

"Good. Henry is smart too, I figured his mum must be. Especially if she likes books like you like." His daughter paused for a moment before looking up at him excitedly. "Oh, daddy! Henry is a wizard, isn't he! He must be if Hermione is a witch!" She was nothing short of jumping up and down as the bus pulled up to them.

"Yes dear, he is. Keep your voice down." They found seats near the front, away from the majority. "I am glad you have been able to make a friend that is like you, I apologize it's taken so long for you to do so." He looked genuinely sorrowful at this before Katherine shook him out of his melancholy.

"Daddy it's okay, I've had you, Uncle Draco, Aunt Astoria, and little Scorpius." She smiled up at him in an admiring way, a way that he believed no other person would ever look at him.

He didn't respond but pat her hair and pulled her close to him as the bus got closer to the stop near their house.

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AN: Please review! This is my first time publishing any writing I've done in almost 10 years, so any reviews are appreciated!


	2. Chapter 2: The Dinner

AN:

So there were a few reviews I could not respond to, but thank you all for the kind responses! I wanted to directly respond to NeoQBirdie who had a question about why I used the name Henry rather than Hugo! The name 'Henry' is one Hermione picked and Ron liked it too, but they did not choose it to name him after Harry. Hugo is a name that I will use though! Ron and his current wife have the usual 2 kids, I kept the name Hugo, but I changed Rose's name to Ruby because the flower names feel overused to me. (Okay, I say that because the 3 kids I have Neville and Hannah having are all plant related, but come on, the man loves his plants.) Thank you for the question! If anyone cares to know about the kids that exist in my version of the next generation, I will post a little tree on my tumblr at some point, check my profile for that link. I even have ideal face claims I use for them. :)

Also, thanks to my betas Aleister, Leigha, & Brent :)

Another note that I feel the need to add, when I write Hermione I do picture her as mixed, but I try to write in a way that you can picture her and any other character as any race. This also goes for Harry, I like the idea of him being half-Indian through his dad, but as I said, this is up to the reader to decide!

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 **Chapter 2:** The Dinner

" _Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival._ "  
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

 **Dec. 3rd, 2010**

Henry walked upstairs to his room quickly after she unlocked the door to their home. _He must want to clean up his study before Katherine arrives._ She shouted after him, "Make sure your room is clean and then come help me freshen downstairs, dear."

She heard him call back down to her as she sat her keys down in the lounge, "Yes, mum!"

 _Now, where to start? We will probably end up in the lounge after we eat…_

The dining room was clean as they hardly used it. Henry usually had his meals in the lounge or on one of the barstools in their kitchen. She was biting her lip as she glanced in the dining room that led off their kitchen. _Clean enough, I'll lay out a tablecloth before they arrive and dust off our china cabinet._

The large china cabinet against the wall in her dining room was holding her grandmother's fine china. Though, she supposed, it was now her fine china. _Should I use it? No, that would be ridiculous._ Rolling her eyes at herself, she turned back to the kitchen and pulled out her wand to do a quick cleaning spell that freshened up the room around her. As the entrance to the dining room was an opening in the wall from the kitchen, the spell also covered that room.

"I supposed that will do for now," she said to herself. Turning, she headed back down the hall to the lounge area, just to the left of the front door. Setting about, she began to tidy this room by hand. _I have plenty of time before they arrive, I'll order the food in an hour…_ As she lost herself in her thoughts while she cleaned the room, she heard her son's footsteps coming down the stairs. She was holding one of the decorative pillows on her sofa to fluff and straighten it up when Henry walked in.

"What can I do mum?"

"Could you dust off the china cabinet in the dining room? Be careful with the china."

He nodded and headed off down the hall towards the kitchen. Turning back to her task at hand, she sat down the pillow. She was glad for having a large lounge area, which had honestly become more of a small library. She had to add two other large shelves when she moved in because of all the books she owned herself. Those in combination with the multiple shelves of books her grandparents had accumulated over their years made the room quite cosy, if you're the type that enjoys to read at least.

 _I ought to light a few candles, pine maybe… It is almost Christmas after all._ She went to the storage closet they had in the hall to go through her candles. Glancing up at the large decorative clock hanging in the hall, she checked to see how much time they had. _4:35, plenty of time._ As she was rummaging in the closet, Henry returned.

"What next, mum?"

"I'm looking for a candle to light in the lounge. If you want, you can go choose a tablecloth for the dining room. Try to find one to match the colors in the room."

He headed back down the hall as she made her selection and turned to head back to the lounge. Lighting a few candles with her wand, she spread them throughout the room. Setting the last one on the coffee table in the center of the room, she turned to survey the room.

 _I think that's suitable, though I'm not sure if it's to Severus' tastes._

Laughing to herself, she suddenly imagined what Severus Snape's taste would entail. _Despite the dark demeanor of the man, I can't imagine that he truly enjoyed living in the Hogwarts dungeons for nearly 20 years…_ Henry walked back in at that moment.

"What are you laughing at mum?"

"Oh, nothing really sweetheart." Checking the time on a small clock on one of the bookshelves, she realized she should go ahead and order the food. Assuming everyone would enjoy whatever specialties the Chinese restaurant offered, she wondered briefly if Severus Snape had ever had Chinese food. _He must have, growing up and living in a muggle area…_

"Henry, why don't you start setting the table while I go and order the food?"

He went to get the plates and silverware from the kitchen and she followed behind him. Her grandmother's old landline was in the hall, just outside the kitchen. She kept it in use to call her parents, Henry's school, and because she never got around to learning how to use a muggle cell phone. They had gained popularity in the past years, but she had not been bothered because she had easier ways of contacting most people she knew through magic.

After she had ordered the food, she helped Henry finish setting the table. They still had around half an hour before Severus and Katherine were to arrive, so they both adjourned to the lounge As Hermione sat in her favorite chair, across from the couch to the right, she noticed the three books she had published that were always left on the coffee table between the two chairs and sofa.

 _Should I move them? I wouldn't want him to think I was boasting…_

She resolved to leave them but added two other favorites of hers to the mix so as to include at least a small variety.

Henry looked peaceful, laying across the sofa with one of the books he had checked out from the library, reading silently. Rather than do the same, she found herself admiring her son. He loved books that involved adventures. His choices today reflected that, she knew. The one nearly touching his nose now was by one of his favorite authors, Jules Verne. Hermione knew his all-time favorite was C.S. Lewis, which anyone may guess if they met their cat, Caspian. Henry named him after going over a multitude of character names in his favorite books. She had purchased him when they moved last month, as they had lost Crookshanks a little over a year ago now. She mused to herself about whether Caspian would make an appearance tonight, he had taken to hiding out in Henry's room.

She heard a knock on the door and rose to answer it. Sighing, almost with relief, as she opened the door to the food deliverer. Thanking him as she paid him, she closed the door and headed towards the kitchen to set the food up. As she was placing the last bowl in the dining room, there was another knock at the door.

"Henry, can you get that and show them in?"

She could hear his footsteps rushing towards the door. Realizing suddenly that she needed to set out drinks, she grabbed two glasses and some juice for the kids. Briefly considering what Severus may want, she busied herself again to make tea.

Hearing Henry approach the opening to the kitchen, because he was talking to Katherine as they passed different artworks hanging in the hall. Many of these Henry had picked out himself, he truly adored looking at art. Turning, she found them standing together, with her old potion's master trailing behind them.

 _Well, he doesn't look completely abhorred to be here, albeit somewhat uncomfortable._

Smiling at them, she moved around the island in her kitchen and nodded at Henry to show them into the dining room. Feeling more at ease to say Severus' name to his back than to his face, she spoke as he followed her son, "Severus, what would you like to drink? I've made the kids pumpkin juice and am making myself tea."

Gazing in his direction, he turned his head slightly towards her before responding. "Tea will be fine, thank you."

 _A polite Severus, this appeared to be an equal combination of almost natural behavior, but equally bizarre to witness. No one would expect you to be completely at ease though, Hermione._

Finishing the tea, she made her way into the dining room. The kids had taken places next to one another, while Severus had sat himself across from his daughter. That left her to sit next to him or to sit at the end of the table next to Henry.

She internally sighed before making her way around the table to sit next to Severus. _I can't have him thinking I'm still nervous around him. I'm 31 years old, he can't take points away if I sit next to him._

Looking serenely at them all, she sat his tea in front of him and sat herself down.

"Thank you," he nodded as she sat down the tea, "and thank you for having us," he gazed over at Katherine who had been telling Henry about the book she had started after leaving the library.

"It's wonderful to have guests, honestly." She cleared her throat to get the kids attention, "You all can help yourselves," gesturing at the food.

Henry grabbed a bowl of fried rice and helped himself, then passing it to Katherine. The two continued talking with one another, so she helped herself to some of the food in front of her and passed it to Severus. He took it, nodding politely while adding some to his plate. She took her cue to continue what she was saying as they began to fill their plates.

"We rarely have guests here, though we've only been here a month. I doubt many of our friends or family will come to see us here, other than my parents. Henry is either here or in his father's flat in Diagon Alley, but typically he is here. I rarely leave myself."

Unsure why she was explaining this, but happy that Severus took the opportunity for casual conversation over an awkward silence between them.

"It's much the same for Katherine and I as well. She goes to Draco's every now and then, she enjoys helping with their two-year-old son. I do try and take her traveling every now and then so she doesn't become so much a hermit like her father."

Hermione chuckled at his slight jest towards himself. "That's good at least, where have you taken her?"

He seemed to consider his response for a moment before responding. "Her lessons are interactive in some aspects. When we discuss certain topics, I like to show her rather than tell her. If we are discussing a certain location for her history lessons, I may take her there to see in person, if the area is safe. We have been to areas throughout Greece, Poland, France, Sweden, Ireland, Spain, Germany, and Italy."

Hermione was in awe. "That's amazing. Do you stay long or just visit the sites relevant to her lessons?"

"I show her what she wants to see, as she's quite curious we've stayed overnight in a few areas."

"Just brilliant… I've been wondering what I'd do when Henry's magic became difficult to contain, but you've given me some ideas."

He nodded at her as if to say you're welcome, and he continued to eat silently for a few moments. She believed him to be finished with that point in the conversation, and she was pondering a different topic to bring up when he spoke again.

"I doubt you would be open to it as you have experienced me as a teacher first hand, though I assure you my techniques are slightly different now, but your son is welcome to join Katherine for lessons." He paused for a moment, gazing at the kids, who had stopped speaking to one another quite suddenly, "If he would like."

 _What did he just offer?!_

Katherine broke the silence that surrounded them all. "Really daddy?" She seemed excited to the point of exhilaration. Henry appeared hopeful.

Hermione was silent, pausing frozen as her mind reeled.

 _He willingly offered to teach my son, after hardly knowing him._

Realizing that all three of them were staring at her at this point, she found her words.

"Of course, that would be amazing Severus." She practically gasped out the words, mostly because she felt the need to respond quickly to her son's pleading expression.

Meeting Severus' eyes, he was looking at her in what was surely disbelief.

"I do have to mention that there are some subjects I do not cover in detail as they are covered in muggle schools. English is not something I have felt the need to continue, as Katherine seems to fair well in that area. I also do not adhere to all aspects of muggle science."

Hermione gave him an approving nod, "That's perfectly fine, although I feel terrible letting you do all this work. If you would want to let me take any of the time off your hands during their lessons, I believe I'd be capable."

The kids were staring at them in awe as he paused at her words. _He almost seems amused by my offer…_

"I will consider your offer. I believe… it may be feasible."

She smiled over at him briefly before looking at her son, seriously.

"Are you sure you're ready to leave your school, dear? I'd rather you make this decision before Christmas holidays are over so I can pull you out during the break."

He didn't hesitate, he was nodding enthusiastically as she finished her words. "Yes mum, I'm positive."

She saw Severus smirk out of the corner of her eye. _My poor boy doesn't know what he's agreeing to._

The kids then started telling the two of them about their books so far and they listened, nodding when appropriate, but mostly quiet throughout the remainder of their dinner. As they finished their food, Henry stood to help clear the table. As he grabbed the last plate, he spoke. "Mum, can I take Katherine up to my study?"

"Of course dear, try not to leave too many books out."

Katherine looked at Severus for confirmation, he nodded at her almost imperceptibly and she jumped out of her chair, trailing behind Henry up the hall.

* * *

Suddenly he was alone with the gir-woman. _Gather yourself, Severus._ He chided himself internally, she was a grown woman with a son the same age as his daughter, she was now an equal to him, he should refer to her as such. The absence of the children created a space between the two adults that felt quite awkward. He saw her stand suddenly, as she began to take the leftover food from the table into the kitchen.

This, if possible, made him feel even more out of place. _I could offer to help, but she would tell me no._ He stood and gathered the last two dishes, preparing to follow her into the kitchen.

"Oh, you don't have to do that!" She exclaimed when she noticed him behind her.

"It's not a problem." He paused as he sat the dishes on the kitchen island for her. "Is there a reason you are doing it by hand and not magic?"

He knew his attempts at conversation were only to keep this situation from being even more uncomfortable than it had to be. This woman- _Stop that Severus, her name is Hermione,_ he scolded himself again, Hermione, seemed to be perfectly at ease with him around as she put the leftover food away. Though, she may just be good at acting, not something he recalled being in her foray of unending talents, much less a Gryffindor trait as well. Perhaps she truly was comfortable having him around.

She turned to him as she finished putting everything away. "Well, I honestly do it because it relaxes me. But, it also helps me teach Henry how to take care of himself without magic. At this point, he knows and seems to understand so I could be using magic I suppose." She walked around the kitchen island and beckoned him politely. "We can wait in the lounge for kids, it should be more comfortable."

She turned and led him down the hallway, back towards the front door. He followed after her quietly.

As she made the turn into her lounge, he kept himself from smirking at the witch. This was less of a lounge and more of a small library. The walls were lined with bookshelves that touched the ceiling. _How very Hermione Granger._

"Have a seat anywhere Severus." He watched her begin to walk to the chair on the right then halting suddenly as he sat in the chair to the left.

"Oh, I just realized I forgot my tea, would you like another cup?"

"Yes, thank you." His response was short, but he attempted to sound as polite as possible. He was in her house after all.

She nodded at him with a small smile as she made her way out of the room. _She seems to be comfortable, even with only the two of us, what an overly polite Gryffindor._

He busied himself while she was gone by looking at the books set out in front of him on the coffee table. Reaching, he grabbed one at random, as he read the front cover he realized this was one of her books.

 _A History of Muggles & Magic, by Hermione Granger. This seemed an interesting subject as any. _

He began to leaf through the index, noting how she divided significant events throughout history between muggle accounts and wizarding accounts. She seemed to combine the two perspectives at the end of each chapter by explaining their effects on one another.

 _It is by no means a concise historical text of either world, but it covered the primary points that muggles and wizarding history alike, intersected. I may have to order a copy… for Katherine to use of course._

He was reading through a chapter on the wizarding perspective of the East-West Schism of 1054 when she returned. Snapping the book shut as she sat a tea tray in front of them, he set it down to grab a cup.

"Don't quit on my account, I'd enjoy hearing what you think of my work." _Cheeky. She was smiling at him. Again._ She went on, "You always were the hardest to please on essays while I was in school. If I recall correctly, you counted me off many times for writing even a centimeter too long."

He smirked at her. _Yes, well, one would think after the first time you would have quit writing too much._ "I think you will find that no student of mine has ever made a perfect grade on a paper. For students like yourself, I had to find a way to keep my reputation in place. It wouldn't have done well for me to give full marks to a Gryffindor student at that point in my career, especially when one considers your friendship with Potter."

She bit her lip slightly at this. "Yes, you're quite right." Pausing, she grabbed her tea. "Is that to say you would grade differently now?" The corner of her lips were turned slightly now, as she eyed him while sipping her tea.

 _Is she teasing me?_

"I believe I would, yes." He assumed that was enough of an answer for her when she proceeded to pick up the book he had been perusing.

"Here, take it. I have my own copies in my study." He took the text from her, staring at it, then looked back up at her.

Now she was smirking at him.

"I'll expect a grade from you, of course."

He almost lost his composure to laugh at her brazen comment. Seeing him laugh may truly scare the woman.

Unsure of how he should respond now, he resolved by thanking her.

"Thank you, I'm sure Katherine will enjoy it as well."

Nodding at him, she responded, "I hope she does, Henry has read through my books, but I know they aren't on his top-ten list."

"Does he have a favorite subject?" _Not that I truly care, but I wonder if his knowledge compliments Katherine's._

She considered his question for a moment, he assumed she was gauging his interest in the various muggle subjects he was taught at school.

"Well, he adores reading, but he doesn't really get as excited about writing as I do. Surprisingly, for a wizard, he does quite well at math. I have explained to him that he won't use it as much at Hogwarts unless he takes Arithmancy. Even then, he won't have the opportunity until his 3rd year." She sipped at her tea, "And what about Katherine?"

Considering her foray into the topic of Arithmancy, it truly was an interesting branch of magic. Perhaps if they followed through with him allowing Henry to join Katherine during lessons, he could teach some basics to the pair of them.

"She does enjoy writing, she writes creatively quite often. Anything ranging from fantasy worlds to poetry. That won't really be of any use with wizarding subjects either. I suppose she could take Trelawney and get creative with her 'inner eye'." He paused, keeping a straight face as she snorted at him.

"Harry and Ron made up every prediction they ever made in her class as well. I couldn't stand the class of course, I never completed it."

"Yes, the staff discussed that incident some during a staff meeting, I recall. Everyone was quite shocked to hear Hermione Granger had walked out of a lesson, much less she did not return." Meeting her eyes, he continued, "Though, I confess, not many were so surprised once we had heard whose class."

She nodded, grinning at him.

"It was quite a dramatic exit, I assure you. Though nothing to par with your introduction to potions on the first day of class."

 _She truly was enjoying teasing him. Why was he letting her get away with it?_ "So what subjects do you think Katherine will excel at, other than beguiling herself through Divination?" _Ah, Katherine, that's why._

"If I have any luck, she will be an excellent potioneer. Though, I am not familiar with their current instructor. Minerva had informed me of him in an owl, he's quite young I believe, she said he came from the Uagadon School of Magic."

Appearing to process the information he had just told her, she suddenly looked excited. "That's in Uganda, I did some research on the area for my book, "Ancient Wizarding Myths & Legends," I'm planning on having a section about them in my current project too…" She trailed off while he was eyeing her, a brow raised.

As she did when she was young, she seemed to unintentionally speak more than intended, as though she could hardly contain her thoughts.

"I apologize, I lost myself for a moment. I'd love to meet him though, he'd likely make an excellent interview subject, perhaps I'll owl Minerva to connect us… Oh goodness, I'm sorry. Anyway, back to the topic. I'm sure Katherine will be excellent in potions, regardless of who is teaching it. She has you as a father, after all, it must be in her blood."

As she turned away from him for a moment to set her tea down, he suddenly realized that she believed Katherine to be his biological child. _Well, of course she does Severus, you don't make a habit of explaining your life to anyone and you wouldn't start now._ He knew her comment was innocent enough, though he found it quite comical that this woman would believe a child as beautiful as Katherine could come from him. However, he himself could not believe a child as beautiful as she could come from the man that was truly responsible for her existence.

 _I wonder who she believes Katherine's mother is?_

Realizing he had taken too long to respond, he regained his composure. "She does seem to have a natural talent for most subjects, I admit."

 _That was far too short of a response Severus, get it together._

"Did you plan on enrolling her at Hogwarts, then?"

"I'd rather not send her any further away than I need to. I could try and teach her as much as possible at home, but she needs the opportunity to make friends her age."

She nodded in agreement. "Yes, Henry needs to meet other children his age that aren't his cousins, as I mentioned at the library. As of now, his closest friend in age is his cousin Rory, she's Ginny and Luna's oldest. She is more into Quidditch than books, so Henry really needed a friend like Katherine."

He hesitated after this, wondering how honest he should be with her. _I want, no, I need her to understand how much Katherine needs this._ Mentally preparing himself for this, he decided on being as genuine as possible.

"Hermione…" He began with her name, it came out smoothly, surprising to the both of them. "Katherine truly has only ever interacted with kids on occasion, either at the park or at the library. Scorpius, Draco's son, is the only magical child she has interacted with and he is only a toddler. She has never reacted this way to someone that she has met that is her own age. I offered to homeschool Henry because I think it would do well for her to have a friend, prior to her starting at Hogwarts. When I started school, having a friend made it slightly easier. I also admit I agree with your point from earlier, Henry's magic will become more difficult for him to contain soon, so it would be beneficial for him as well."

She seemed nonplussed at his honesty with her. He watched her as she set her tea down before replying.

"Severus, I completely understand. I had no one when I began at Hogwarts. Harry and Ron only befriended me after the troll incident on Halloween during my first year, so those first two months were simply awful for me. I'm glad they have found each other, truly."

The woman shifted slightly in her chair, and he noticed she was moving her arm towards him. He felt it lay on his forearm for a moment, to convey her understanding he assumed. He nodded at her, keeping his eyes on hers as she took her hand back.

"I had forgotten your defense of Potter and Weasley following that. Am I to still believe you truly thought you could take on a troll at the age of eleven?"

With an impish smile, the woman hummed for a moment.

"I suppose I can tell you the truth now, assuming you no longer have control over house points at Hogwarts."

Smirking at her, he nodded slightly for her to go on.

"I was actually there crying when the troll wandered in. Ron had said something about my having no friends was due to my ridiculous need to show what I knew in class. Harry and Ron must have heard that they made me cry from someone and they came to find me. Lucky, honestly, because I wouldn't have made it here if they hadn't."

He responded quite quickly without intending on sounding as frustrated as he did. "You would not have been in the situation at all had he held his tongue."

She smiled lightly at him, "Yes, but I also wouldn't have made friends following that incident, regardless of their callousness." She paused before adding, "You know, you actually made me cry in a bathroom once as well."

He had to keep himself from seeming uncomfortable now. _Yes, I've likely made many students cry in my time…_ She must have regretted the comment because she spoke again.

"It's alright, I promise. That was the year Vol- does saying his name bother you?" She stopped mid-sentence, waiting for his response.

"No, it has not bothered me since he was killed. Thank you for asking."

"Right, well, that was the year Voldemort returned. Your mood that year was slightly worse than the years prior, I am guessing that it was a combination of you sensing his impending return and -." She grimaced before continuing, "Possibly more specifically towards Harry, Ron, and me because we had attacked you at the end of the year before."

She truly looked as though she felt regret about the situation.

"You were young and believed you had a good reason. I cannot hold that against you now, I suppose. I admit I held a grudge against Black and Lupin. It took much of Albus' time to convince me of their innocence."

He could visibly see her sigh in relief, so he added, truly because he believed it would shock her more.

"You are right, that year was quite trying for me. Nonetheless, I do remember the comment I made towards you. I apologize."

She was completely frozen now, it took all his self-control to keep from laughing at her, he broke eye contact and lifted his tea again.

Having finally found words, though she spoke a little softer than she had before.

"Well, I suppose I owe you a thank you in the case of my teeth. When I went to set them right, I let Madam Pomfrey shorten them a little more than needed so they were a normal-size afterward."

He looked at her, wondering if he could make a witty remark without her taking him seriously. _Attempting to won't hurt, I suppose._

"You do realize one could report you to the school for integrity purposes for lying to school personnel and they may redact your graduation from Hogwarts."

She retorted almost immediately.

"Then it's a good thing only people I trust know, then."

It was his turn to be shocked for a moment, though he knew he really shouldn't be. Potter had contacted him after the war to apologize and let him know that he trusted him. He also had apparently made a rousing speech in his honor, after he chose not to attend the awarding of the various Orders of Merlin. They had owled it to him anyway, it now sat on a shelf in his daughter's room. It only made sense that the woman next to him would have some trust in him as well.

"I suppose that is good then."

It was silent for a while, though this silence did not feel uncomfortable. Still, he pondered topics that he could bring up for discussion.

"Your new book you mentioned, you would have a section on wizards in Uganda? What is the book about entirely?"

Sitting up straighter, she took on a demeanor that he knew many professors seemed to have.

"I haven't chosen a title yet, but it will be my attempt at covering the various magical cultures around the world. I've got it divided by geography and all my research as of now has been through books I've read at the ministry and purchased in Diagon Alley. I'd love to visit a few of the places I have found in my research though, it would help me to paint a more accurate picture."

He contemplated for a moment before responding. "If you'd like, I can tell you about some of the things Katherine and I have seen. Of course, you should try to travel to any place you can. Perhaps you'll have more time once the holidays are over."

"I'd love that Severus, thank you. You're right, maybe after the holidays are over and you start teaching him, I'll take time to travel every now and then."

"I'd like to remind you that it was not an offer for daycare services."

She laughed at him at this response, he was intentionally giving her a cynical expression. Before she could get out an apology, he decided to be somewhat polite.

"I'm glad to be of some amusement."

 _She never stops with the smiling, does she? She seems to be truly comfortable with me. I suppose this is a good thing if I am to let Katherine spend time with her son._

He noticed the woman checking a clock on her mantle, he too looked to see what time it was.

"Oh goodness, it's getting late for the kids… would you like to accompany me to check on them?"

He nodded as she stood. Taking her cue, he rose to follow her. As they made their way up the stairs, he took notice of more art lining the walls, as well as pictures of their family and friends. As they approached an open door to the right down the upstairs hall. He saw a room with a desk, a few small bookshelves, and a couch with a TV in front of it. Henry was sitting on the floor, dozing, and his daughter was curled on the couch, a book lay open on her chest, but she was fast asleep.

Smiling at the sight, he walked forward and pat her head. He glanced over his shoulder and saw Hermione watching him with a sort of pleased expression. Whispering, he heard her speak. "It looks as though they partied too hard, Severus."

He smirked at her, "Yes, it seems so." Reaching down, he lifted his daughter, who only roused slightly before laying her head on his shoulder, asleep again. He turned to see Hermione beckoning him.

"Come, I'll walk you out."

Following her back down the stairs, he felt Katherine tighten her arms around his neck. As they made their way to the door, Hermione faced him.

"It was a pleasure having the both of you, Severus." He noticed her hesitate before continuing, "You mentioned taking Katherine to a park earlier, do you think you could show Henry and I to it the next time the two of you will be there?"

Nodding, he faintly said, "Of course, I will owl you the next time we plan to visit, and we can meet you here."

 _Enough with this smiling._ She held the door open, "Have a good night Severus."

He met her eyes, "You as well, Hermione," before turning and walking down the road, Katherine wrapped in his arms.

* * *

AN:

Please review! I have this entire story planned out now, tentatively there will be 43-45 chapters. I do have a full-time job now as a schoolteacher and I write in my free time, so my chapter postings may be sporadic. I will attempt to post at least once every other week but this is not a promise! During breaks, I will try to get more done!


	3. Chapter 3: Family Visits

**Chapter 3:** Family Visits

" _Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice._ "  
― E.M. Forster, A Room With A View

 **Friday, Dec. 10, 2010**

Hermione and Henry were making their way up the path to Ginny and Luna's home for a routine visit with cousins, and a chance for her to socialize with women her age. Elated to finally have someone to speak to about her recent communication with Severus Snape, because she knew they would not tell a soul if she asked them.

Henry went to knock on the door when their 9-year-old daughter Rory suddenly swung the door wide. "Henry!" She pulled him into a hug. As Henry struggled for the return of his body, Rory yelled over her shoulder, "Mum, mummy! Henry and Aunt Hermione are here!"

Laughing, she stepped in around the kids and made her way to their lounge area. Their style was much more unique than Hermione's, decorated with many bizarre items Luna had collected on her travels. Ginny's style made its way into the room through her quidditch memorabilia from her days as a professional chaser for the Holyhead Harpies. There was a mix of Ravenclaw and Gryffindor memorabilia hanging about the room as well, altogether it seemed like an organizational disaster to Hermione, but she knew they were happy.

Luna was sitting cross-legged on a chaise lounge with papers spread about in front of her, it seemed she was doing some editing for the latest edition of the Quibbler that she had taken over for her father. Looking up as Hermione made her way fully into the room, the woman jumped up to greet her with a hug.

"Hermione! It's great to see you. Ginny is just in the kitchen making tea, she'll be with us soon I expect."

"It's great to see you too Luna, how have things been around here since I last visited?"

Luna sat back down, her notes even more spread about now as she had moved so suddenly when she got up. Hermione took a seat across from her in a straight back armchair, the one she always took when she visited.

"Oh, things have been wonderful. We did receive word of being approved for our next adoption, his name is Harvey, he'll likely be three by the time all the paperwork is processed and we are able to move him in." She was smiling softly and seemed a little exhausted, but Hermione knew Luna loved all her children dearly and was extremely excited to have another toddler running about. _I couldn't deal with it. Before Ron and I divorced, my limit was three. We never made it to that point, thank God, honestly._

At that moment, Ginny walked in with tea. "I couldn't quite understand Rory's yell, but I figured it had to be you if she was that excited to see someone."

"Yes, well we all know how taken Rory is with Henry, for some reason." She grinned at her former sister-in-law. Despite the divorce, they had remained close, just as she and Ron had, somewhat. It was different now, but a friendship that occurs in times of war does not give way to relationship incompatibility, she supposed.

"Honestly, they are sweet though. Rory, Jasper, Roxy, and Fred are always wreaking havoc when they're together. Percy and Bill don't often bring their kids by because they're further away, but she fairs well with them, I guess." She handed her a cup of tea and went on, "But we love it when she spends time with Henry because she slows down a little, and I think she really listens to him when he talks about things he's interested in."

Hermione nodded at her as Ginny sat down on the floor in front of her wife, "They are a complementary pair I think. She will keep him on his toes, that's for sure."

The pair across from her laughed, it was Luna who responded. "Yes, she is sure to do that."

Ginny appeared to have a sudden thought, shown by the way she jumped before she spoke. "Oh, Hermione! We want your input on this too. We were having this discussion yesterday with George, but have you considered what house Henry will be in when he starts at Hogwarts? Since Henry will start with Rory, and Fred, Roxy, and Jasper the year after that, we were discussing their potentials."

 _No, I hadn't really considered it but that's because I still think the housing system is ridiculous… still, it is something that is going to happen, so I might as well ponder it with them._

"Well, I hadn't really thought of it no… but since you asked, I think he'd probably be suited to Ravenclaw, given his traits. Although, I thought the same of myself at that age and I was put in Gryffindor, so I could be wrong."

Luna nodded at her, it seemed to be a knowing look, "I agree, he does have the thoughtfulness that a lot of my old housemates had. I'll be surprised if that isn't where he ends up."

Ginny piped in, "Oh boo… you're probably right of course, but I can keep crossing my fingers for more Gryffindors. Luna here is under the impression that Rory would be more suited for Slytherin than Gryffindor."

Considering the various traits of their oldest for a moment, she had to agree. "Well Gin, I think you'd be surprised how ambitious she is. You can see how determined she is to pull Henry out of his shell every time they are around one another… and from what you two have told me, she can be quite sneaky."

"Well, I won't be upset of course. If the war taught us anything, it's not to hold something against someone if they can't control it." Ginny smiled at her, "I'll keep crossing my fingers for Gryffindors though, I would look ghastly in green for when I would attend her Quidditch matches."

"Ginny is also sold on the fact that Rory will make the Quidditch team as soon as she arrives," Luna quipped.

Her wife responded quickly, "And why shouldn't she? Of course, it all depends on what they need when she starts, I suppose. If they have a chaser position open though, she'd be set if they would let 1st years try out."

Hermione was laughing at them at this point, "I suppose you could have her risk expulsion and 'pull a Harry' to get noticed." Ginny looked pleased for a second before Hermione added, "That was a joke Gin, you know me. I would never advise a child to risk expulsion."

Ginny was smirking at her and Luna looked pleased. "Thank you Hermione, Ginny you know she can wait one year. She'll have a good enough time her first year with or without Quidditch."

Rolling her eyes at her wife, "I suppose you're right, but I can dream. Sorry Hermione, what about you, how have you been? Settled in the new place?"

Hermione suddenly felt nervous. _How do I even begin to broach the subject of Severus Snape?_ "Yes, we've settled in quite well. We recently had time to go about the town, and luckily they had just opened a small library not too far from us."

"Yes, you and Henry would call that lucky." Ginny was grinning at her.

Feeling the need to continue, "And during our visit there, I actually ran into someone we all know…"

Luna did not react much, aside from tilting her head curiously, but Ginny looked thrilled. "You ran into someone from our world, in a muggle town? Do tell!"

She sighed, she might as well get it out before she regretted it. "You can't say anything, I think you'll understand the secrecy once I tell you who it is."

"Hermione, come on, it can't be that bad," Ginny looked somewhat concerned but still enthralled.

Luna responded in a polite tone, "We promise, Hermione. You know us, we won't tell anyone if you wish it so."

She bit her lip slightly before beginning to speak again, "It was Severus Snape, and, hang on Ginny let me continue-" Ginny's face was aghast and she looked ready to speak, and even Luna had her brows raised in surprise. "He has a daughter, so that might explain some of his seclusion from the wizarding world since the war. She's the same age as Henry, they actually have become quite the pair of friends."

"Snape! A daughter! Oh, Hermione, this was the last thing I expected, no one has seen him in years. I can't even begin to picture him with a child, much less a daughter. Who is the mother? Did he seem like a good father? Henry and his daughter are friends already?"

Hermione bit her lip again to keep from groaning at her friend's inane questions. "Yes, I'd say from what I've witnessed he is a great father Ginny… Henry and Katherine are already quite close after only spending time together twice in one day. They have much in common, it seems."

"Her name is Katherine? What a pretty name, I wonder if he chose it or the mother did… you didn't say, who is the mother Hermione?"

She knew she had put herself in this situation, so she continued to answer Ginny's questions, though she had to confess she did not know the answer to this.

"I'm not sure Gin, I didn't really think it appropriate to ask. Though if I recall correctly, there was no ring so I'm not sure that he is married." _Though is Severus Snape the type to wear a ring if he were married?_ "He didn't mention her mother when he came over, so I don't think she is in the picture. I was under the impression that he and Katherine lived alone, based on his accounts of teaching her and taking her traveling. This is only a guess though, I'm really not sure."

Ginny looked stunned and it only took her a moment to find out why. "Snape came over? Where? To your house? Hermione!"

Luna cut in, "Ginny, honey, let her breathe."

Hermione smiled at Luna, thankful. Ginny looked up at her from her spot in the floor, "I'm sorry, this is just too much for me to take in all at once. I have a million questions, but I promise I won't ask them all." Grinning at Hermione, she continued, "Hermione, whenever you're ready to tell us anything you want, I'm all ears."

Sighing with relief, she reached for her tea. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jasper, their eight-year-old, walk into the room.

"Mum, Lysander took Lorcan's toy wand and won't give it back. I can't get him to and Lorcan won't stop crying."

"I'll get it honey, you stay here with Hermione." Luna stood as Jasper walked further into the room and saw Hermione. "Aunt Hermione! I didn't know you were here!" He walked over and hugged her before following Luna back out of the room.

"Bye, Jasper!"

Ginny was eyeing her at this point, Hermione knew there was impatience behind the stare, but she felt some enjoyment in making her wait.

Sipping her tea, she decided to change the subject for a little bit until Luna returned. "Luna said that your new adoption should be finalized soon. Do you know much else about him other than his name?"

 _I wish she'd stop giving me that look._ Ginny knew she was intentionally getting her off topic, but she had answered her, nonetheless. "His name is Harvey, he's a half-blood, I believe he's currently living with someone in Scotland, temporarily. The magical father apparently abandoned the muggle mother after she had the baby. The woman knew he was a wizard but felt she couldn't take care of him alone, without a father or another magical person. They tried to encourage her, but the social worker seemed to think that she wanted to give him up because he reminded her of the father too much. A ridiculous reason to give up a child, but of course, we are delighted to have him."

"Ginny, you know you and Luna have more heart than any couple I know. So few people are ever willing to take in children in that aren't their own, and here you are with four, going on five."

"They are as much our own as any, we think. But I know what you mean, I always wanted a large family. I'm not sure one as large as my mum's though."

"You're pushing it, you know. You've got the one girl, a set of twins, and one- now two I suppose- other sons."

Ginny laughed, "Gods Hermione, don't remind me. They are reminiscent of their uncles at times but in different ways. I think Lysander reminds me of Charlie a lot, and Jasper is a lot like Fred and George, I know he and little Fred will wreak havoc when they start at Hogwarts. Poor Lorcan acts a lot like Percy, even at five."

Smirking at her, Hermione responded, "You didn't mention Rory, though I'll bet you know she's a lot like you."

"You can't say that now that you've decided she'll be in Slytherin!" She was clearly joking, but Hermione always felt interhouse jokes to unnerve her some.

Shrugging as Luna made her way back into the room, Hermione said, "It shouldn't surprise you Gin, I think you would have made just as good a Slytherin as a Gryffindor."

Ginny looked slightly offended, but joked all the same, "I'd make good in any house, I think Hermione."

As Luna resituated herself in her seat, she pat Ginny's hair. "Of course you would, dear."

Hermione smiled at the two. _I really need to date more, I miss little things like this…_ Deciding it was time for her to tell them about Severus' visit to her house, she sat a little straighter, setting her tea down.

"So you wanted to know why I invited Severus and Katherine to my house, correct?"

Ginny looked prepared to spit her tea that she had just taken a drink of. "Severus! Did he ask you to call him that? It sounds so strange coming from your mouth so casually!"

Hermione had to roll her eyes at this, "What did you want me to call him, Ginny? Professor Snape or sir?"

Seeming mildly annoyed with her, Ginny responded, "I only meant, do you call him that to his face?"

"Yes, Ginny, he did ask me to. I expect he wouldn't enjoy being addressed as 'professor' or 'sir' from an adult."

Luna responded at this point, "It does make quite a lot of sense Hermione, Ginny is just surprised." She smiled down at her wife before looking back up at her and continued, "Go on, Hermione. Tell us about your encounter."

Taking a deep breath, she started. "Well, I was at the library with Henry, as I said, and I had let Henry go browse on his own while I did the same. After I had selected a book to read through, I sat and noticed Henry talking with a young girl his age, and eventually, he brought her over to meet me. He invited her to dinner, and they left to ask her father for permission. At that point, I had no idea who her father was."

Ginny seemed entrapped by the recount, Luna appeared to be in her own thoughts as Hermione spoke, but she was still attentive.

"When it was him that she brought back to ask for permission, I was surprised of course, but he was quite polite. I ended up feeling as though I should invite him to dinner as well, as I knew him, and I figured a man like him would not let his daughter go to someone else's house alone."

Luna nodded, "You're probably right."

Hermione smiled at the woman, she was so calm throughout this that it made it slightly easier to continue, though she could tell Ginny was full of questions again.

"So they came over for dinner, during which," she took another deep breath, "He offered to homeschool Henry for me, and before you say anything Ginny, yes I did agree to it. Henry's magic is only going to get more difficult to contain and I think he'll learn much from him."

"Relax, Hermione, I wasn't going to say anything, I promise." She was grinning at her, though she could tell there was some shock in her eyes.

"Yes, well, after dinner, the kids went to play together up in Henry's study. He helped me clean up afterward," noting the clear shock that now appeared across Ginny's face, she added, "Yes, I found it quite odd too."

"Anyway, we adjourned to my lounge area while we waited for the kids and discussed various topics, from the kids to my books. It was slightly awkward, but he was much more pleasant than I expected, really."

"That's just insane Hermione, but great for Henry, I'm sure! Does he seem as though he'll be a little more mellow of a teacher than when we had him, then?"

"I expect so, though I wouldn't use the word mellow. I'd say… perhaps, a little more understanding? He isn't really trying to act a part anymore, so I think he's more willing to reason."

"Good enough I suppose. Let me know how it goes when you start, maybe he'll take Rory off my hands."

Hermione snorted at that, "He made sure to remind me it wasn't an offer for daycare services when I suggested I'd travel some while he taught Henry."

"Drat, that sounds more like him, and I was excited too." Ginny smiled at her, "Well, I can't say I'm not shocked because I truly am, but I'm glad for Henry having a friend nearby. Maybe you as well, if you'd ever go so far as to describe him that way."

Hermione shrugged, "Perhaps. As I said, he was somewhat awkward, but I know I was too."

Luna chimed in, "I think you both probably need a friend, especially after all the years he has had secluded. And you don't have anyone else you know near you in that area, so I think it'd be good for the both of you."

Ginny looked up at her wife, "You talk as if you know Snape so well, dear."

"Well, most of the wizarding world seems to know his past, or at least they think they know. It's only fitting that he is attempting to hide his present." She smiled serenely down at her before kissing her forehead.

Hermione had a half-smile, as she thought about Luna's words. _She's right, he probably needs, and really, he deserves, a friend. Though I doubt he'd ever see me in that way, I can try I suppose. He does have Draco, but I think he views him more as a family for Katherine, but I'm not sure… Either way, everyone deserves more than one friend._

From her reverie she heard Ginny speak and reserved herself to consider the thought later, "Hermione, why don't you and Henry stay for dinner. We'll have plenty of food to spare, I'm sure."

* * *

He could hear Katherine laughing at Scorpius in the playroom down the hall from his seat in the large lounge area of Draco's home. It was not as extravagant as the old Malfoy Manor, but still quite a large home for a small family. They had all vacated the home after the war and had it destroyed and the land sold, no one wanted to recall any memories they may have had there.

"Severus, would you like more tea?" Draco's wife Astoria seemed to speak from a distance as he was lost in thought.

"Yes, thank you." As she filled his cup, he looked over at Draco and then back at her. Ensuring that he could still hear Katherine playing with Scorpius, out of earshot, he spoke again, "How is Daphne?"

Astoria paled slightly, but it was Draco who responded. "Not any better, but not necessarily worse either."

Severus nodded at them, but gazed at Astoria, meeting her eyes, "I have still been experimenting in any way I can to find a remedy or at least something to ease her pain, Astoria. I have not had much progress yet, but I will continue to try."

The woman let out a breath it seemed she had been holding, "Thank you, Severus. It's appreciated." She walked out of the room, he assumed that she needed to gain her bearings before returning.

"I never intend to hurt her when I ask of her sister, I hope she realizes that." Severus tried to convey sincerity as he spoke to his godson. He tried not to ask of the woman often, but he felt it somewhat of his responsibility. _A cure is unlikely at this stage, but hope can often begin to cure those who are in distress of their loved ones being in poor health, I suppose…_

Draco gave him a half-smile and was quiet for a moment before responding to him. "She knows, she respects you for all that you are trying to do and what you have done so far for Daphne, you must realize that."

Severus gave the man across him a searching look before accepting his words.

"How have you been this past month, Severus? We haven't seen you since Halloween, has Katherine been keeping you busy?"

Shifting in his chair slightly, he gave the man a smirk. "As she usually does, we've been spending more time at the new library in our town as of late, rather than the park. I've been well, as I said, working on experimental potions as well as other various work orders."

He was unsure why he added the last part. _Draco would know this though, of course, it was he who exchanged my potions for money so I am able to stay anonymous…_ He supposed it was to reassure the man that he was, in fact, doing well.

The laughter from the hall seemed to be getting closer. Sure enough, when Severus turned in his chair slightly, he could see the small feet of the four-year-old Scorpius pattering into the room, Katherine trailing after him.

"Hi Daddy! Uncle Draco!" She smiled pleasantly at them as she was tickling Scorpius who rolled onto the floor, giggling hysterically.

"Poor boy, she's got you hasn't she, son?" Draco laughed at the pair, Scorpius was yelling amidst his giggles, "Daddy, help me!"

Severus watched as Draco pulled his son off the ground and held him close, as if to shield from Katherine. Considering himself for a moment before deciding, he suddenly reached for his daughter and began tickling her as well.

"DADDY!" She was still giggling uncontrollably when he subsided after a moment. Scorpius was pointing at her saying something reminiscent of, "Haha Uncle Sev-us got you Kat!"

Patting her hair with his free hand he found himself smirking somewhat at the little boy. Katherine had wrapped her arms around his other arm to stop him from tickling her.

Katherine suddenly had a curious expression on her face as the atmosphere had calmed. "Daddy, does Uncle Draco know Hermione too? You've told me he used to be one of your students before too."

Groaning internally, he had to keep from slapping himself in the face. _It's your fault you imbecile, you should have warned her not to mention it while she was here. But you didn't. Because you know you couldn't have given her a good reason as to why and she would have begged for one…_ He knew he had to answer her, and to Draco's shocked expression, he felt he better answer sooner than later.

"Yes, he does know her. They didn't know one another well, though."

"Oh, okay! Well, she's really nice Uncle Draco, I'm friends with her son Henry! Maybe you can meet him one day, I think he'd like Scorpius too." She smiled over at Scorpius and went over to pull him out of Draco's lap.

"Come on Scorpius, let's go back to your playroom!"

As the pair made their way out of the room, Draco was giving him a curious look. Waiting to speak, he began once the kids were well out of earshot.

"Granger?" It was posed as a question, he knew.

"Yes, she lives in my neighbourhood now. The kids ran into one another at the library."

"I see. I would have suggested she is there on ministry orders to find out what you've been doing these past years, but I heard a few months back she had quit her job at the ministry." Pausing for a moment, he added absently, "I suppose she's just sticking to writing now." He seemed uninterested at that point, but Severus knew he wanted more information. He knew his godson well.

"She told me as much, yes. I am unsure why she did, but she seems to be living there of her own volition. Her grandmother passed some months ago, I believe, and left her a house in her will. It just happens to be located in Cokeworth."

"And the kids have befriended one another?"

Severus nodded somewhat, "They have much in common, it seems. You will recall Granger's prowess for learning, her son seems quite similar in that aspect."

"That's decent enough, I suppose. At least he isn't a miniature Weasley." He knew Draco still dealt with the youngest Weasley boy throwing insults about him throughout Diagon Alley. _At least he and Potter had reconciled their differences, somewhat._

"You know they are divorced then, I suppose?"

"Yes, it was big news when it happened. I think it was maybe five or six years ago now? The people at the Prophet really enjoy handing out news that isn't theirs to discuss." He shrugged, "Though I can't say I was surprised. I was more surprised that she made it that long with him, much less had a child with him."

Severus didn't respond, but he nodded as if to agree with him. _I'd never considered the love lives of any of my prior students, but thinking about the two now I do quite agree._

Draco considered him for a moment, "At any rate, you'll have to keep me updated. I worry about Katherine, but I expect she'll be fine. I never had any issues with Granger when she was still at the ministry, she actually has defended me on a few occasions publicly, particularly when I began the renovations in Knockturn Alley."

"I confess that I offered to homeschool her son with Katherine, I feel that she needs a friend her own age to be around more. They seem to be on the same level cognitively, and I can only hope it will help her to befriend a Weasley for when she begins at Hogwarts with my surname."

"You're probably right. If she is in Slytherin as we were it will only be worse, I expect." Draco paused as if he was attempting to recall something. "You haven't received the Prophet since the war ended so you wouldn't have heard, but I think it was Granger who was attempting to dismantle the housing system. Something about it being harmful to the kids and their immediate judgment upon someone based on their house. She had some support of course, her primary being Potter I believe, but it wasn't enough. The Board of Governors fought hard against it, saying it was an age-old tradition that they couldn't rid of. I think there is some merit to the idea though… As far as I know, no other school in Europe has a housing system."

 _Dismantle the housing system?_ It seemed a ridiculous idea initially, but as Draco explained, he found that he agreed completely. The source of many contentions while he was head of Slytherin house, even prior to Potter and his friends starting at the school, was due to preconceived notions about one another just based on the house a student was placed in. He himself was assumed to be a bad person by complete strangers before he ever got off the Hogwarts Express his 1st year because he figured he would be in Slytherin…

"I agree, the idea does have merit. And you're sure it was Granger that was behind the attempt?"

Draco nodded, "I remember her owling me for an opinion, but I was nervous to stand in the spotlight alongside her at the time. We had just had Scorpius, so I felt I was already getting enough attention as is."

"Yes, that makes sense." _I can relate to staying out of the spotlight, the last in-person communication I had with any other witch or wizard outside of Draco, or Hermione now I suppose, was Minerva around 2 years ago._

He checked the time and realized it was getting later than he had anticipated on staying. "I won't intrude on you all much longer. Katherine was impatient about seeing Scorpius, I will try not to leave such a large gap between now and my next visit."

"We'll be awaiting your owl." Draco gave him another half-smile and stood to walk with him to the playroom to retrieve Katherine.

"Katherine are you ready to go?" Severus smiled down at her, she was reading her book while sitting on the floor. Scorpius had fallen asleep with his head in her lap.

"I guess, daddy. Scorpius was a little wore out after all the running I think." Draco laughed in response.

"Here, I'll get him Katherine." Draco walked over and scooped up his son. Katherine stood up slowly, marking her place in her book.

"Bye Scorpius, bye Uncle Draco" she whispered to him, kissing his cheek before turning to Severus. "Where's Aunt Astoria?"

"I'm sure Draco will tell her we said goodbye, dear." Draco nodded in response to this, Katherine smiled and waved as they turned out of the room. As they made their way to the front door, he thought he saw Astoria peeking through the curtains at them from a window on the second level. When he checked again, she was gone.

* * *

Later that evening, after Henry and Hermione had returned home from a long day at the Lovegood-Weasley household, Hermione woke after hearing several taps coming from her lounge window. She had dozed off in her chair while curled up under a blanket, reading one of the books that the kids had chosen for her at the library. Slowly, she pushed the blanket off her, sat her book down on the coffee table and stood, walking towards the window.

Moving her curtains aside, she saw the source of the noise was a tawny owl that she did not recognize. Opening the window slightly to let the owl in, it flew in and perched on one of her chairs. She turned to grab a treat from a bag on one of her bookshelves that she kept for the owl's that delivered the news and other various letters. She handed the bird the treat as it stuck its leg out for her to untie the small scroll attached to it.

As it came undone, the bird hooted softly and sat there patiently. She assumed it was awaiting a response to the letter she held. Sitting down, she grabbed her wand to perform a few spells that ensured the safety of the parcel… One in her position could never be too cautious.

Her spells all revealed it to be safe, still, she started to open the small scroll cautiously. Being friends with Harry Potter had caused her much grief over the years when it came to crazed fans or those who truly despised their efforts. She often received letters from people she didn't know with the most inane requests, one person owled her asking for a lock of hair at least once every few months. There was the occasional owl with promises of Voldemort's retribution as well. Though she recalled one specific owl right after she and Ron divorced that contained a marriage proposal.

Laughing at the thought of another marriage proposal from a complete stranger, she read the short sentence, written in an all too familiar scrawl.

 _We plan to go to the park tomorrow at noon if you and Henry would like to accompany us. You can send word back with our owl._

 _-S & K _

Almost laughing at the brevity of the letter, she checked the time. Henry was likely asleep by now, but she was sure he would enjoy it. He wasn't going to Ron's this weekend, as he spent last weekend there, so they had no plans.

Grabbing a pen and a sheet of her stationery, she jot down a response.

 _That sounds lovely, we will be ready to see you both here at noon._

 _-H & H_

She reread her response three times before determining if it was good enough. Smiling at the owl as she stood to attach the note to its leg, it ruffled its feathers and held out its leg for her. After she attached it, she pat it lightly before it flew off out the open window.

* * *

AN: I'm getting a little busier as the school year goes on, I'll post as often as I can! In the meantime, feel free to follow my main tumblr oihermione, or my SSHG one snapegranger, and for random little posts regarding this fic you can check katyworks

Also, I love the reviews, keep them coming! :)


	4. Chapter 4: Casual Meetings

AN: Finally, I know! I finished my first year as a middle school teacher – it was fun but tough. Hopefully the summer brings more time to write! There are a lot of perspective shifts in this chapter, I believe they are all marked with line breaks. Please review!

* * *

 **Chapter 4** : Casual Meetings

" _There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature_."

― Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

 **Saturday, Dec. 11th, 2010**

Katherine skipped ahead of him, humming a tune he recognized vaguely as being a popular muggle hit from when he was a child. His mother had been a fan of many muggle musicians, he believed in part that this was something brought upon by an earlier and better version of his father, one that only existed long before his birth. He had let Katherine have Eileen's old turntable and vinyl records to listen to and she made use of it quite often.

As they rounded the corner that turned to the street Hermione and Henry lived on, Katherine slowed down and grabbed the crook of his arm.

"Daddy, what Hogwarts house was Hermione in?"

He peered down her, raising a brow slightly. Having discussed the history of Hogwarts with her, she was familiar with the houses and their designated traits.

"She was in Gryffindor, dear."

"Like Aunt Minnie?"

He nodded at her as she seemed to contemplate this. "What house do you think I'll be in, Daddy?"

As they approached the house, he looked at her and sighed. "I'm not sure dear, I believe you would do well in any house."

"But what house do you _want_ me to be in?"

 _Always so insistent…_ "I have no preference. I will be proud of you, regardless." Nodding towards the door, he spoke again, "Why don't you knock, Katherine?"

Skipping forward, Katherine knocked on the door lightly. They only had to wait a moment before Henry opened the door, grinning at them.

"Hello!"

"Hi Henry!"

Henry stepped out the door, turning slightly to look behind him. Hermione Granger was making her way down the hall with a jacket on her arm.

"Hello Katherine, Severus!" She nodded, smiling at the two of them before looking down at her son. "Henry dear, here's your jacket."

Severus paused a moment as she helped Henry put on his jacket and close her door behind her. Backing away slightly, he let Henry jump off their front step and stand next to Katherine. He knew he should greet them, but he felt unable to find words when Hermione broke the brief silence.

"Shall we then? Katherine can lead the way, I expect," she spoke kindly while looking at him at first, then down at Katherine.

Nodding in response as his daughter smiled at Hermione, he let Henry and Katherine lead the way as they began to talk to one another. He caught portions of their conversation; Henry seemed to be telling Katherine about his cousins. It was a moment before he realized as they were following the children, that they had fallen in step with one another in comfortable silence.

Feeling at ease for once around another person that was not pressuring him to speak, he began to relax slightly around her. Well-aware that it was likely not the best decision, especially with a person being so close to Potter, but he could not help it for Katherine's sake. He avoided being around others that claimed to know his past so he could be a loving father to his daughter without being lambasted by the press for his history. Though he knew he could not protect Katherine forever, she would start school at Hogwarts in a year. Once the rest of the wizarding world gained news of a student with the surname Snape, there would be questions surrounding his more recent history…

He could tell she was glancing at him occasionally, but the woman still said nothing. For the most part, she seemed to be admiring the children walking a few feet in front of them. Beginning to feel mildly guilty for not saying anything, even in greeting despite being the one who organized this meeting, he decided to speak.

"Have you owled Minerva yet regarding the potions professor?" He realized that his tone could have been a bit more casual, but he felt no enmity in her response.

"Oh no, I haven't yet. I should soon though. I'm finishing up a section about the wizarding culture in the Middle East before I start on the African section of my notes. Which now that you bring it up, have you ever visited the Middle East in your travels?"

He noticed she would only glance at him a few times while speaking, but she was smiling lightly as she spoke, keeping her eyes forward towards the kids.

"I have not visited the area with Katherine, but I have been to Aleppo briefly on my own before I started working at Hogwarts. I was not in the area long enough to get a good impression of the wizarding culture…" He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I only interacted with people that were not native to the area."

She seemed to pick up on the hesitancy in his response because she did not press the subject of what business he may have had in Aleppo any further.

"I see. I'm considering visiting Damascus at some point… I hear there is a large underground wizarding population in that area, and I'd like to compare it to our own. I've noticed that there aren't many underground wizarding groups throughout the world, it seems for the most part they hide in plain sight."

He nodded slightly in response to this, "I am unsure of the Syrian wizarding customs, but wizards throughout the Great Britain area are known for being very suspicious in comparison to others. You can see the differences in how we hide, especially at events such as the World Cup. Depending on who is hosting it each year, you will see different methods of obscuring magic based on the ministry that is responsible for doing so."

"You know, I had not considered the cultural significance in community events like Quidditch…" She seemed to be realizing the oversight she had made, so he held his tongue. After a moment she gathered herself from her momentarily thoughtful state. "Considering that point reminds me of how we all interacted with one another during the Triwizard Tournament. The tournament itself helped to build international relations just by having youth from different areas approach an event with a common interest. I need to rethink the organization of my book so I can include a section on sporting events…" Pausing a moment, she quietly added, "Ron and Harry won't believe me to ever research anything on sports… I'll have to ask Ginny if she has any input though."

He was not sure if he was to respond to any of this, so he simply chose to nod, grateful for the distraction that occurred shortly thereafter. The park had come into view as they rounded a corner, causing the kids to sprint the rest of the way up the sidewalk. Hermione began to laugh aloud at the pair, glancing up at him as they followed after the children.

As the kids began to play, the pair of them made their way to the benches nearby. He gestured politely for her to have a seat before sitting himself.

* * *

Even after their interactions during the dinner at her house had not prepared her for the continued strange politeness of the man next to her. Hermione was amazed at how at ease she was walking alongside a man her friends had despised for a good portion of their lives, and even she had briefly as well. As they sat down, she remembered a question Henry had asked her earlier and felt it was a good time as any to pose it to Severus.

"What would Katherine like for Christmas? Henry and I wanted to get her something, but we want to be sure it's nothing she doesn't already have. In fact, Henry also asked what you would like as well."

He seemed momentarily puzzled at her question but considered her for a moment. "I always get her a few books, a mixture of muggle and magical. Other items are dependent on her interests at the present time. She loves journals and the like to do her writing in. I have found her to prefer muggle writing utensils over quills, but she does like the appearance of decorative quills and has quite a collection."

Hermione noticed his eyes flicker upwards, it seemed in brief consideration of what he was about to say. "She also has my mother's old record player; she loves muggle music. I have never purchased any for her because I am unsure of what she would like, most of the records are from the 60s and 70s."

She had to laugh at this, "That's an intriguing taste for a nine-year-old witch, I'm impressed. I think I can work with that." Taking a small pause, she met his eyes briefly before turning her gaze back towards the kids. "You didn't answer me completely though. What about for you then, Severus?"

His smirk disappeared but he did not seem angry, he actually seemed downcast suddenly. The change would seem imperceptible to most, Hermione knew, but she had become quite good at reading people over the years. Between Ron and Harry's frequent mood shifts over the years, her stint at working in the ministry as a policymaker, and having an adolescent son, it was a talent she tried to utilize often.

"I am not in need of anything at the moment." He didn't give her time to respond before returning the question, "What about Henry and yourself? Katherine is sure to ask as well."

She allowed him to evade the question for the time being. _He likely hasn't received gifts from many people in years…_

"Henry is similar with books, I think that may be something we can help one another with. I don't know what books Katherine has already read so you can help me with that. Henry… well, maybe you could get him a beginner's potion set?"

She had to laugh at his raised eyebrow, and added, "I've never let him experiment with potions so I think it would be good for him, now that he's met you especially."

"That would be a reasonable gift to come from myself, I suppose…" She noticed he was speaking cautiously, and he still had his eyebrow raised but she detected the smallest hint of a smile, or maybe just a smirk, playing at the corner of his lips.

"Would you want to join me in shopping in gifts for them?"

He didn't seem able to hide his shock, or maybe confusion, from her at this question. She hadn't considered that he would not want to go shopping but she thought it was a polite offer. _Maybe that was too much for him…_ She gave him time to respond by turning her head towards their kids, who were now at the top of the climbing frame laughing carefree.

She began to wonder if she needed to apologize or change the subject when he hadn't answered after a full minute when he responded in an even tone.

"For wizarding items, I typically order through mail or have Draco get things… Occasionally I will go out on my own, but in disguise, if I am in the wizarding world."

 _How am I supposed to respond to that? Was it a blatant no or?_ But he answered her questions in what seemed an afterthought to him.

"I could disguise myself for an outing in the wizarding world, but I would prefer it to be out of Britain. This would help with your research as well, I expect."

In all the things he had said to her since their kids had met one another, even offering to teach her son, this offer had shocked her the most. It clearly showed on her face because he seemed to be smirking at her gaping expression.

 _Get it together Granger._

"I'm sorry… I, yes, no that would be wonderful actually. Did you have anywhere in particular in mind?"

"No, I will give it some thought. Though if you have a particular geographic area in mind I will consider what I know about that area."

She considered it for a brief moment but thought better of asking for a specific area, she would rather let him have more freedom in his decision if he was having to disguise himself. "I have research going in almost any area with a wizarding presence, so if you know of a good place for the purpose of gift shopping we can go wherever you think best."

"I will consider various locations." It was at this moment that Henry and Katherine began to walk towards them.

It was Katherine that spoke first, "Could we go to that tea shop around the corner, daddy?"

Henry responded by nodding vigorously, and adding, "We might be getting a little cold."

She noticed the snow was coming down a bit harder than it was when they first began their walk here.

"That would be acceptable to me, as long as Hermione is fine with it." Katherine's gaze turned to her, she smiled at the girl, "Of course, let's go!"

* * *

 _Owl from Severus to Hermione_

 _H-_

 _I have been considering the various areas that would be of interest for our Christmas shopping and research excursion. Would you be available on Saturday for a trip to America? Based off one of your books, you have extensive knowledge on the Salem area. I am familiar with the nearby wizarding community; I can arrange the proper portkeys with discretion if you so desire. Katherine will be spending the weekend at Draco's, as I recall Henry mentioning at tea he will be with Mr. Weasley._

 _-S_

 _Owl from Harry to Hermione_

 _Hermione,_

 _Hope you and Henry are doing well! I had lunch with Ron yesterday - he mentioned that Henry was coming to stay with him next weekend. We should all stay and eat when you drop him off. I'd love for you to catch up with Vanessa, she always feels out of place when we're around only wizards, but you make her more comfortable, you know? The kids want to see one another as well before we all meet at the Burrow in a giant horde during Christmas._

 _Look forward to seeing you!_

 _Love,_

 _Harry_

 _Owl from Ginny to Hermione_

 _Hermione,_

 _How is everything? Luna and I want to see you again before Christmas! Rory and the kids would love to see Henry again too. I have to add I really want to hear more about your surprise neighbour. Owl us back soon!_

 _Love from all of us,_

 _Ginny_

 _Owl from Hermione to Harry_

 _Harry,_

 _That would be great! Might I suggest to Ron that you all bring your families to my new home in Cokeworth? I feel as though we have it ready for the family to visit finally. I think I should like to invite Ginny and Luna too. I look forward to seeing you, Vanessa and the kids!_

 _Love,_

 _Hermione_

 _Owl from Hermione to Ginny_

 _Ginny,_

 _Are you and Luna free Friday afternoon? I'm going to ask Ron and Harry's family by for lunch, you and yours are welcome too if all agree to it! And since you mentioned it, Saturday I'm supposed to be going with that particular neighbour to America to shop for Christmas gifts for the kids. We can talk about that because I have never been with him without the company of the kids!_

 _Love,_

 _Hermione_

 _Owl from Hermione to Severus_

 _Severus,_

 _America would be wonderful, should I plan on staying the weekend or is this a one-day trip?_

 _As you mentioned, yes Henry will be with Ron this weekend, and please be warned that there will be many Potter's and Weasley's at my residence Friday - if you wish to avoid the general area I would not blame you._

 _Hermione_

 _Owl from Severus to Hermione_

 _H-_

 _I am grateful for the deterrent; I will visit an old friend in that case._

 _If you wish to have time to both shop and for me to show you areas of interest for your research, I would suggest packing to stay overnight. This is completely at your discretion._

 _-S_

* * *

 **Friday, Dec. 17th, 2010**

Friday had come quickly it seemed, and Hermione found herself preparing the house for guests, though not nearly as well as she had when she had expected Severus and Katherine. She was aware of the mess she should expect once the guests of today left - given the number of children that would be running about. Between Ginny's, Harry's, and Ron's children, there would be 10 kids between the ages of 2 and 9 in the house.

She had finished locking up her study to keep the multitudes of younger kids out, and prepared both Henry's bedroom and study with charms that would keep any of his breakables from being harmed. She laid out toys and games for the children to play with in the living room she had downstairs, having rarely used this room or prepared it for anything, she supposed a play area for children would be its greatest use, at least for the day. All it had in it was an older television set, a large couch, and her grandfather's old recliner. She resolved to find a better use for the room in time.

She had invited Ginny and Luna over early to help her prepare lunch, as she figured it would be foolish to have food delivered for this many people. Sitting in the lounge area awaiting their arrival is where she had found herself, holding a book, but for once she had not opened it. She found herself pondering the old friend that Severus meant to visit…

 _Of course, he could mean anyone. You don't know his entire life; he may have many friends you are unaware of._

But she must know who it is, she knew she did not know his entire life, but the bulk of it had been spent in a castle she spent much of her formative years in, and the other life he lived in that time was spent with Death Eaters and the like. She very much doubted he was reacquainting with any of the latter, but more likely the former. Perhaps a professor at Hogwarts? Or an old potioneer friend?

Losing the ability to contemplate the matter any longer, as a knock at the door announced the arrival of two of her closest friends. Setting the unopened book aside, she stood to get the door. Henry had just arrived down the stairs as she went to open it.

"Aunt Hermione! Henry!" Rory came bursting in and flung herself at Henry who nearly fell. Ginny laughed as Hermione and Luna smiled at the pair. The other 3 kids filed in behind Rory, and Luna and Ginny stepped in behind them.

"Henry, why don't you show your cousins the area I've set up for them to play in? If you'd like, you can use the television." Henry nodded at her and started up the hall, with Rory close behind. Jasper had managed to find his way in the lounge area and was urged back out into the hall by Ginny.

"Well, they should be occupied with enough for us to prepare a meal, I hope." Hermione smiled at Ginny's words as Jasper jogged down the hall to catch the heels of the other kids.

"Yes, I hope they will. Here, the kitchen is at the end of the hall."

* * *

Henry sat with Rory, watching the younger children play with the toys his mum had set out. Rory was lying on her stomach watching the television when she asked without looking up, "What Hogwarts house do you think you'll be in? I overheard my mum's talking about it again the other night."

Henry shrugged, "Maybe Gryffindor like my parents? But I am kind of hoping for a change. Most of our family are Gryffindors after all."

Rory nodded and sat up looking at him, "Mum said she thought I'd be in Gryffindor like her, but mummy was in Ravenclaw… after flipping through that book you lent me though, I think that of all of them I might be better as a Gryffindor or maybe… I don't know, but I do think you'd be a great Ravenclaw."

Henry grinned, "I think so too… my friend Katherine and I talked about it in the park the other day. We think Ravenclaw would suit us best."

"Who's Katherine?"

"She lives near us, her dad is Severus Snape, you remember the stories?"

Rory stared at him for a moment before whispering, "He lives near you? That's amazing! Can we go meet him? I've always wanted to meet him, he's the only one from the war that we haven't met I think!"

Henry shook his head, "No, mum wouldn't let us, and I think she said Katherine was visiting her uncle when I asked if we could invite her so he's probably not there."

"Well, we're bound to meet him if Aunt Hermione is friends with him now."

Henry didn't know what to say because he did not think his mum was really friends with Severus Snape. He knew he was intimidated slightly by the man, but he was ecstatic to learn from him starting next month. He did not mention this to Rory though, he wasn't sure if it was because he thought she would be jealous, or because he wanted to keep it to himself…

They had sat there for some time talking, Henry eventually changed the subject from Katherine and Severus Snape because he honestly could not answer the questions that Rory was throwing at him. Once more, they were discussing houses, when his cousins and half-siblings showed up.

His mum and his Aunt Vanessa were leading the small horde of Potter and Weasley's into the room. James came running in and sat with Lysander immediately, helping him add to the tower he had started building with blocks, Albus and Ruby came in together and started playing with a puzzle he had left out. His mum was holding Uncle Harry's and Aunt Vanessa's youngest, his cousin, Lily. Aunt Vanessa was holding his half-brother Hugo. They sat them down in front of Rory and himself, before kneeling in front of them as well.

"Ginny and Eleanor are finishing up dinner, so we'll just sit here with you all while they finish up," his mum smiled at him, "How is it going in here? I'm glad the room hasn't been torn apart quite yet." She said this with a quick glance at Lysander in the corner with James and another one at Jasper who was immersed in a television show.

Rory answered for him, "They're behaving, but that usually doesn't last long with my brothers… you're lucky so far." Grinning, she added, "But if they start to destroy things, I'm pretty good at getting them to fix it."

Hermione laughed at her niece, "I'll be sure to call on you if they do get to that point."

They were cooing at the babies for a moment when suddenly Rory exclaimed, "Oh and Henry told me about the Snape's! You have to invite me over so I can meet them one day!"

Henry glanced at his mother, grimacing, she did not seem to be angry though, she just smiled at his cousin, "We will see if that can be arranged, dear. So, are you excited about getting another brother, Rory?"

Henry, glad for his mum's ability to change the subject with ease, turned to look at his Aunt Vanessa, who was looking at his mum with some confusion, but she didn't say anything…

* * *

She hadn't thought of a reason to tell Henry not to mention the Snape's in front of their family, and she knew doing so would only raise questions from Henry. The change of subject was easy enough, but she could feel Vanessa Potter's gaze as they spoke with the children.

Eleanor walked into the room, looking around at them all, "Lunch is ready! Hermione, you and Henry have quite the home, I'm quite sure this is one of the nicest homes in this neighbourhood."

Hermione had never been able to find a true fault in Ron's new wife; she was a true Hufflepuff and certainly had the knack for feeding Ron in a way that she knew she was never able to.

Giving a sort of serene smile at Eleanor in response, she pulled herself up and reached over to help Vanessa, and then rounded up the children and headed to the dining room. They had set the kids at another small table within viewing of the dining room, as they all would not fit at one table.

"Ginny, Eleanor, this looks amazing!" Vanessa had exclaimed, and the rest of the table agreed in unison.

There was not much news discussed at the table, aside from Harry's typical reports of illegal activities remaining that were related to death eater sympathizers. Ron always seemed to take this type of news with an air of jealousy but hung on Harry's every word. The two had not grown apart, so much as grown up. Hermione was a part of this as well, of course, they had all seen much of one another when all three were employed at the ministry, but everyone had gone their separate paths. Family always brought them together, and they each remained close in their own aspects.

As the night wound on, some of the kids began to get restless. Baby Hugo seemed exhausted, and Eleanor recommended that Ron gather Henry and Ruby so they could head home. In likewise, Lorcan was begging Luna to go home because he wanted to water his plants, a peculiar but sweet 5-year-old. The Weasley's and Lovegood-Weasley's took their leave, as Vanessa, Hermione, and Harry shared in cleaning up the dishes.

As Harry walked into the dining room once more, Vanessa casually looked up from the sink and smiled at Hermione, "Does Ron know that Severus Snape is now your neighbour?"

Hermione quite loved Vanessa's curiosity, simply because of her inability to completely grasp the severity of certain things in the wizarding world. She had always admired, and completely understood, Harry's choice in marrying a muggle. Vanessa knew nothing of the famous Harry Potter when they had met, and he was able to be himself around her without any expectations.

"He does not, but I don't think it's of great importance for him to know immediately, it's not as though he is a danger to myself or Henry… I think Ron might overreact honestly, he still judges Draco harshly, and I'm sure he would judge Severus in a similar aspect, despite Harry's constant reminder that he was the hero of the war."

Vanessa smiled at her, "I think you're right, I've overheard the two together on a few occasions and Ron will still refer to him as a greasy git, though Harry will usually correct him. There was also his dispute on Albus' middle name. I fully understood his choice after he explained it to me, despite the unusualness of both names. My parents always call him Al, and tell our extended family it's short for Alan."

At that moment, Harry returned, only overhearing the last part of his wife's words, exclaiming, "Oh yes, my boy Alan Steven. I think the names would've suited the true namesakes well too, Alan Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore… though I'm not sure how Snape would feel about being Steven Snape."

Hermione snorted in response, paused a moment, and then added, "You could ask him yourself I suppose. That's what Vanessa and I were just discussing."

Harry stopped holding a towel from wiping the table, "What do you mean?"

"Severus Snape is a resident of this neighbourhood, he actually doesn't live too far from here." She acted as though this was not a big deal, but for Harry, who had been trying to have a face-to-face conversation with Severus for years now, she knew it was.

"Hermione!" He dropped the towel, "Why didn't you tell me as soon as you found out?"

She turned to him, and almost snappishly said, "Because, I was under the impression that his intention was to be left alone. I am certain of it now, but he has been kind enough to let me in on his life some, so I am sure if you give it more time, possibly I can convince him to sit with you."

"Let you into his life? What does that even mean? He didn't apparate away the moment he saw you?" He sounded frustrated with her, much like the Harry she knew in school did when she was not being clear enough with him.

"No Harry, he did not have the opportunity, as our children were entertaining one another at the library." She whipped around at him before he had a chance to respond, "He has a daughter and does not want the news of it being tossed around the wizarding world I assume; thus, he has remained hiding in the muggle world."

Harry did not say anything. He sat at a barstool, looking at her in shock it seemed.

Vanessa was the one to break the silence, she had watched the entire encounter in awe and confusion, "So… is his daughter near Henry's age then, Hermione?"

"Yes, she is, she is the same age as him, they will start Hogwarts at the same time, along with Rory."

Vanessa nodded in response, "That's good then, they will be friends before they start together, maybe Rory can meet her beforehand as well."

"Perhaps, I know Severus was truly thankful that Katherine had found a friend that was also a magical child. I am certain that is why he has been so cordial with me… He's also offered to homeschool Henry along with his daughter, prior to starting at Hogwarts."

"That's amazing!"

Harry looked at his wife, then back at Hermione. "I can't believe you didn't tell me." He said it quietly, interrupting the two women, who fell back in silence.

Hermione stared at him, willing herself not to lose her temper. "Harry, had I told you at any point before now, you would have whisked yourself here immediately and demanded to see him without any rationalization other than you wanted to talk to him."

"But I do want to talk to him, Hermione."

"I know Harry, but I daresay he has told you all that he can using those memories. I would assume that the scenes they conveyed were all too personal and nothing that he would want to rehash in the present, especially given that he is happy and has a family." Hermione herself had always been curious at the true contents of the memories that Harry had seen that night, Harry had given everyone the rundown of who Snape was and most took him on his word. The only other people that had seen the memories were the members of the Wizengamot that exonerated Severus after the war.

He hung his head, as Vanessa walked over to him, patted his hair and pulled him close. "You're right Hermione, you always are I suppose. I'm not even sure what I would say."

Hermione gave him a small smile, "Perhaps you could thank him, and you will get to Harry. Just not today, okay?"

* * *

AN: To clarify because I know it's confusing: Eleanor is Ron's current wife, (maiden name is Branstone, her name was mentioned in the books, she was a Hufflepuff two years below them) they have two kids, Ruby and Hugo. Harry's wife is Vanessa, she is a muggle, they have the usual 3 kids, James, Albus and Lily. All of Ginny and Luna's kids are adopted, Rory, Jasper, Lysander, Lorcan, and eventually Harvey. Also, I'm sorry there's not much Severus this chapter, but the next chapter is mostly them in America together. Hopefully that will make up for it!


	5. Chapter 5: American Excursion

AN: This chapter is dedicated to my grandmother, who passed away in April. She actually read and loved the first three chapters of this story, though she had no knowledge of Harry Potter prior to that. I have a Google Doc where I would post the chapters of the story and annotate sections with reference to JK Rowling's creation for her to understand. I'll miss you, nanny!

* * *

 **Chapter 5:** American Excursion

" _And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it._ "

― Roald Dahl

 **Friday, Dec. 17th, 2010**

He approached the castle gates with little emotion, at one point in time Hogwarts had held all he knew to be somewhat positive in his life. Lily had been his closest friend and he was in a sort of love with her back then, he had long acknowledged it had been more of an infatuation. She was the only person that had ever treated him as a true human being with emotions. He fell in love with the idea of her, not knowing that she was not the only one who could make him feel human. Appearing poor and being sorted in Slytherin in that day and age had been responsible for most of the bullying and other attention he received… anything after that was a byproduct of his own actions, like joining the Death Eaters. Now he did have what was pure love in the form of being a father, and he understood much of what he never had as a child.

Minerva met him at the gate, smiling at him, "And just where is that little Katherine of yours, Severus? We communicate regularly through owl but when you unexpectedly say you'll be visiting me after 2 years and you don't even bring your little girl for me to exclaim over."

"She is with Draco, she enjoys coddling Scorpius." He fell into step next to her as they walked through the grounds toward the looming castle.

"Good for her, she needs to spend more time with children than her ruminative father."

He had to chuckle in response to her. "Actually, she has been spending some time with a young wizard her age, you probably have met him."

She shot him a look of curiosity and spoke with a brow raised, "Who might this be Severus?"

"The young Henry Granger-Weasley." He spoke slowly, and likely more dramatically than needed but he knew she would be thrown and he wanted to take it all in. He loved shocking this friend of his, it was always for comedic effect when he did something out of the ordinary, the shock on her face was reminiscent of the shock he saw when he told her he was adopting Katherine.

"Severus Snape, you mean to tell me you have allowed your Katherine to befriend a Weasley? I am astonished…" She paused for a moment in their walking, taking in the information. "You are correct, I have met Henry, he seems much like his mother. I'd say that is enough to forge a friendship between the two, knowing your Katherine's intelligence." She paused again before adding, "But Severus, how ever did they meet? I am certain you haven't run into them in the wizarding world, and even if you were to, I can't see you making conversation with Hermione by choice, much less Ronald."

"We ran into them in the muggle world. Granger and her son are neighbours of ours now. They live a few blocks from us. Katherine and Henry met without our knowing in the library and led us to meet one another so Katherine could come to dinner at their house."

"And did you, Severus?"

"Of course I did, I couldn't stand between Katherine making a friend, especially one she can keep in our world when she starts school."

"And Hermione?"

"What about her?"

Minerva shrugged in response, they had taken a shortcut to the Headmistresses office, and were now ascending the spiral staircase.

He sat across her desk as Minerva busied herself preparing tea for them both. Giving what he thought was an appropriate pause, he waited until she was heading to pour his tea to say, "I am taking Hermione to America tomorrow."

He chuckled as Minerva poured his tea all over her own desk in shock. "Careful Minerva, I am sure you have the list for next year's students somewhere in here."

"To America?" She sat, staring at him and then down at her mess. "With the kids?"

"No, we are Christmas shopping for them. Katherine is staying at Draco's all weekend and Henry is with his father."

"You're sure you can handle that, you do recall she is one of Potter's closest friends, Severus?" She had started to pour him another glass of tea at this.

Smirking at her, he pulled out his wand and vanished the mess he had intentionally caused before responding, "Yes, I do recall. However, she is tolerable company, she actually thought to warn me of Potter and company being at her home so near my own tonight. I advised that I would be meeting with an old friend in that case." Setting his tea down, "I also recommended she owl you about the new potions professor, she's doing some research on his native country."

"Talked that much, have you?" She chuckled before looking up at him. "I'm glad Severus, you've needed an equal around and I'm sure Katherine has needed a friend her own age." She added, "Surely you are not planning to go to America and come back all in one day? That's an awful lot of portkeying."

 _An equal around…_ He scoffed at her internally, "No, it will be an overnight stay, we've agreed on shopping in Salem for the children. I booked an inn in Ocean Park. The community there is good at minding their own, and I'm acquaintances with the owner, Joseph Descoteaux. You remember he did some of the research on the removal of the venom that nearly killed Arthur Weasley…" He left the unfinished thought of "and myself" go unsaid.

Finishing his tea, he leaned back in his chair and observed his surroundings, glad that Albus' portrait was sleeping, at least he appeared to be. You often never knew with Albus. He realized Minerva appeared lost in thought after he mentioned Joseph, she eventually seemed to realize he was awaiting her response and spoke.

"Yes, I have heard of Ocean Park… you should also visit Boston if you'll be in Salem. I know it is more of a muggle tourist destination but the wizarding population there does offer a variety of shops with things the kids might enjoy for Christmas." She stood and walked around her desk.

"You know Severus, as you brought up our new potions professor… I have to mention that he is not a Master of Potions but he has expressed… interest in becoming one. I believe that may have been his goal in coming to Europe, and we just happened to be looking for someone to take over Horace after his final retirement." Pausing, she seemed to be looking for a reaction, but he wasn't going to offer one yet, though he knew very well where this was going.

"Perhaps you'd consider returning temporarily if only to be his mentor… but the Defense Against the Dark Arts position is also open, which is absolutely yours if you would like it. Elphias has expressed that he is getting too old to practice defensive magic in an adequate manner."

 _She was trying._ "I appreciate the sentiment Minerva, but I doubt it would be acceptable to bring in an ex-Death Eater who once ran the school under Voldemort's orders to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. In fact, does your new potions professor know who would be mentoring him?"

She made a hacking noise that reminded him vaguely of a cat, "Nonsense! Severus, you're a war hero, despite your hiding in the shadows all this time, the majority of this world has not thought less of you for your actions. Potter has seen to that…You did what you had to do to win us the war. " She had stood and started pacing, but approached him, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"And you have done quite well at keeping your life a secret, but I daresay you are aware you will be unable to do so for much longer. Katherine is approaching 10, is she not? You have little more than a year left to make the world aware without it being a shock when Katherine Eileen _Snape_ walks through these very doors. And let me tell you, it will be just as hard for her then, as it would be now, except you won't be by her side." A pause. "Unless you are by her side, of course. This castle remains open to you whether or not you are employed by it, but I implore you to return Severus. It would do you well."

He held back a stronger retort and responded in a level voice, "I will keep it in mind, Minerva."

* * *

 _Owl from Hermione to Severus_

 _Severus,_

 _Should I meet you at your home or elsewhere? We can meet here but I assume we are traveling by portkey._

 _Hermione_

 _Owl from Ginny to Hermione_

 _Hermione,_

 _Have fun on your little American excursion! Bring me back something nice!_

 _Ginny_

 _Owl from Severus to Hermione_

 _H-_

 _You can meet me here, I'll have the portkey ready at noon. The address is 1373 Spinner's End._

 _-S_

* * *

 **Saturday, Dec. 18th, 2010**

She walked with nothing but her old beaded bag that had the undetectable extension charm on it, and a thick coat on her back. It was useful to have magic when traveling long distances she thought. The memories of her childhood before discovering she was a witch came into the forefront of her mind, the trains she had taken with her parents cross country, the plane she had taken with them to Moscow when she was 9. She had hated the plane, it had been too cramped for her liking, but the train she found relaxing, perhaps that was why she had always enjoyed the ride to and from Hogwarts.

Realizing that she had crossed over into what she recognized as the newly gentrified part of Cokeworth, she looked around at her surroundings having only seen it in passing and pictures. She had been receiving the local paper and was aware of the renovations that had been done to this side of town since the removal of the local factory and 'Clean the Coquet' initiative to clean the local river. It did look rather nicer than what she remembered from passing by as a child when visiting with her grandparents. Though, she had read that many families were displaced due to the factory shutting down and the neighborhood upscaling. _Perhaps Severus has an opinion on the matter._

Approaching the door with a silver plate labeling it as 1373, she took note of what appeared to be new siding on his home as well, it matched the surrounding homes, maybe he was okay with the new renovations of his neighborhood. Knocking on the door, she stepped back to look at the small garden in front of the house. They had made use of the little lawn space to create a fresh herb garden, it seemed. She was observing the different items that were continuing to grow, despite the snow they had been getting. Being so lost in her thoughts of the small garden, she didn't hear Severus open the door.

"Rosemary." It was spoken in an even voice that nearly made her fall over.

Straightening up to face him, she said, "Sorry?"

"The one you were touching, it's rosemary."

"Oh, right, sorry. I was only admiring it, it is nice to have an herb garden that lasts through the winter, I'm sure." She backed from the garden back onto the sidewalk, feeling some mild discomfort at not knowing the extent to which she should on gardens.

"Magic does help some with that, but most that are still growing there are perennials." He turned away from her and stepped into his frame, he could have been smirking, but it was always hard to catch with him, "The portkey is in through here, do you have everything you need?"

Following him through the door frame, she looked around in awe. It was much brighter inside than she had expected it to be. She was admiring what she assumed was a piece of poetry by Katherine that he had framed on the wall when she responded, "Yes, I do," and shook her beaded bag slightly.

He stepped past her to close the door and let her read for a moment before speaking, "We spent last summer painting the house. Katherine made the choice of the color of most walls, robin's egg blue is her favorite color. I did the siding then as well, the new neighbors didn't seem to appreciate the grey stone that was there previously."

Turning to face him, she posed her question as more of a statement, "I had wondered if you appreciated the gentrifying of this neighbourhood. I remember how it looked when my grandparents would drive me around as a child."

"It is a pleasant place to raise a child I suppose, but the neighbours I had prior to the changes were more apt to mind their business. I find that I am having to cast muggle repellant charms more often than in the past… They seem to think it is their business that I live alone with my daughter and homeschool her." His face became difficult to read partway through this response.

She nodded, "Yes, an old coworker of mine at the ministry had a similar problem… He chose to live in a muggle suburb of London and many of his neighbors are often wondering why his children didn't attend the nearby private school." Pausing, she added, "Gareth made use of muggle repellant charms too, but I believe his kids went out of their way to bug the muggles around them."

He said nothing in response but began moving past her up the small hall. Noticing that his expressions were getting more and more difficult to decipher, she shut her mouth to avoid making him too uncomfortable.

He gestured for her to follow him, they made their way through an entryway that held his small kitchen. "I was able to request the portkey approval discreetly through the ministry, they are not aware it is specifically you traveling with me."

She quirked a lip at the portkey sitting on his counter. "Is that one of Katherine's old toys?"

"Yes, she has many things I had been unsure of who to give to, I passed most on to Draco for Scorpius but there are many like this that Draco would not take." His expression seemed to soften now, "I expect your friends have many children at this point as well. You're welcome to take what I have if you know of someone who could put them to use."

"I can think of a few, yes. Ron and Harry both have little girls, as do Percy and Neville."

He raised a brow, he seemed surprised. She wasn't sure what to do with the momentary silence so she continued, rambling on about a topic as if it would help ease the tension. It was a habit she had learned to control in most situations, but this wasn't a usual situation, she supposed.

"Ron has two other children. Ruby is around four now I believe and Hugo is only two. Henry enjoys spending time with them, though I have noticed he gets bored with the younger kids rather quickly if Rory isn't around… Harry's got three kids, James, Albus, and Lily." She stopped suddenly, not sure if she should have mentioned Harry's kids' names or not.

"I have been told of Potter's children's namesakes. I had heard that one of the boys share my name as well. Truly, I pity the child. I had not asked her of anything that happened to most after the war, her mentioning of Potter's children was merely an attempt to convince me the world had accepted me as a hero of some sort."

She tried to give a look of reassurance, "It makes sense that you wouldn't inquire after anyone, you went through a lot Severus, no reason to be interested in the lives of people that remind you of a difficult past."

He seemed to take her reassurance in part, though he did seem mildly uncomfortable now, shifting slightly. "Yes, well… Our portkey leaves in a few minutes, I suppose I should tell you my plans and we can adjust if need be."

"Yes, I suppose that would be helpful."

"We are arriving in a designated travel area for visitors of Salem, we will start there and whenever we finish we can apparate to Boston, if you would like, it was suggested by Minerva there are shops with items that she believes the kids would enjoy. Once we have finished there, we will apparate to a beach that is warded from having muggles near it. From there we will need to walk further up the beach to an inn that I've booked us in Ocean Park. He has wards that keep anyone from apparating too near it. Tomorrow we can tour Ocean Park and Portland until you are ready to leave."

He said all of this as though he was listing ingredients for a potion she was to brew in school. It made her look down, stomaching a laugh, but then she also realized something else in his statement. _His old friend was Professor McGonagall._ She had never mentioned still being in contact with him, but Hermione felt relieved that he had her as a friend for the past 12 years.

"That sounds wonderful to me, I have done extensive research on the Salem area as you mentioned in your owl. I don't believe I've come across Ocean Park though…" Pondering the research she had done on America in the past, she could not place it.

"It's on the coast of Maine, within an hour of Portland. The wizarding natives of the Abanaki tribe have made their primary domain Ocean Park. There is little muggle presence throughout most of the year."

Nodding at him, "Yes I recognize that as one of the Native American tribes that had a strong prevalence for magic. Native magical practices are so different from our own, it is amazing that you're familiar with the area."

"Yes, well…" He paused for a moment before adding, "Our portkey should be leaving shortly if you're ready?"

"Of course."

They each grabbed part of the doll before it glowed and she felt herself being jerked away.

* * *

They landed in what seemed to be an empty room, he headed towards the only door in the room, she followed close behind him. As they exited, a man in a blue uniform was waiting at a kiosk outside.

"We'll just need a wand check-in for out of country visitors. You will not need to check-out when you leave the country." He pulled his wand out, handing it to the man who did a quick scan of it with his own wand before handing it back to him. He walked past him and stood to wait for her.

Once they were finished, he watched as she looked around the small atrium they were in. It was full of memorials to the witches that were killed during the Salem witch trials, he followed as she began to make her way to view some of them up close. He assumed he would be doing this a lot, as she didn't say a word when she walked away.

"Some of these are for muggles too." She spoke aloud, he assumed she felt his presence because she hadn't looked up from the plaque she was reading. "They have memorials for muggles that were murdered for being accused of using magic." He had never read the inscriptions on these memorials during his visits, but he understood her amazement.

"We already know European wizards are not known for their capacity to empathize with muggles, our American counterparts seem to have found the ability early on in their history."

She nodded at him before walking to the next memorial, a statue of who he recognized as- "Isolt Sayre," she looked at it in awe before turning to him. "Are there any statues of the founders of Hogwarts in the castle? I don't recall ever seeing any."

Pausing in thought, he never recalled seeing statues of the founders… "No, I do not believe there are. I know there are original portraits, but they belong to the Heads of House. I never had Slytherin on display during my tenure."

She hummed at him in response, he was unsure at what this meant. As she made her way around the room observing, he noticed the crowd was growing in their small atrium. She seemed to take note of this as well, "Sorry, we should go."

He began to make his way to the East exit, he couldn't help but smirk at her still attempting to read different plaques as they passed them, knowing he would need to speak to gain her attention as he was turning, "Underground Essex Street has many shops, we can walk through there and stop as needed."

"Perfect!"

They had been walking silently for a few minutes, he had been here a few times before, once during his training as a Potions Master, he had been sent to get ingredients only native to the Americas. The next time he had come to the area was to meet Joseph and discuss the antivenom he had developed for the Horned Serpent and compare to that of a Maledictus snake, together they had developed what was eventually used to treat Arthur Weasley. He was still unsure how it was used to treat him, he had fled St. Mungo's as quickly as possible following his recovery.

"Can we stop here?" She gestured at a shop on their left with a sign overhead that read, 'Jobberknoll Press: Coffee, Books, and More.' He nodded in response to her, following her through the small entrance. It was much larger on the inside than it had appeared, there were two floors of shelves lining the walls and a variety of other items laid on tables throughout. She had already grabbed one book in the time it took him to observe his surroundings.

She nearly shoved the book in his hands, "You should get this for Katherine if she doesn't already have it." Before he could respond she was already making her way to another shelf. The table near the shelf she was viewing was full of what appeared to be stone muggle gnomes, puzzled at why this would be in a magical shop, he approached and reached for one.

"Gnomes?" She had appeared at his shoulder and was cocking an eyebrow in his direction.

Clearing his throat he responded with a level voice, "Katherine asked if we could get a muggle garden gnome once, believing it would move around as wizarding gnomes do but be a nicer version. I told her they were just as unfortunate in their own way." As he finished speaking he let out a small gasp of pain, yanking his hand back; the stone muggle gnome had bitten him.

She was biting her bottom lip, clearly trying not to laugh and finally resorted to turning away and walking in the opposite direction. Scowling, he followed.

He was just realizing that he may have been a little in over his head.

* * *

AN: Sorry if this seems shorter than normal - this chapter ended up being so long that I divided it into two chapters! I just happened to find a river called Coquet in northern England - I liked the name, so in my head, Cokeworth is along this river somewhere. (It also means to flirt but that's just a coincidence…) Let me know if you spot any errors and as always, if you enjoy, please review!


	6. Chapter 6: Travel Revelations

**Chapter 6:** Travel Revelations

" _A noble type of good._

 _Heroic womanhood._ "

― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

 **Saturday, Dec. 18th, 2010**

They had left Salem with a variety of items, despite his silence the majority of the time. She pointed out a place for lunch and had offered recommendations to him for Katherine, he had helped her in choosing some great books for Henry and they had even found a nice arithmancy chart set. She had managed to convince him to ride the commuter rail train into Boston rather than apparating. He may have been questioning her sanity, but she was surprised when he easily agreed to it. The ride was not extremely long, and eventually, they found themselves walking along a sidewalk downtown.

"Boston doesn't have an underground if I remember correctly, do you know the location of many wizarding places?"

He glanced at her before giving a curt nod, "They are more spread out than most wizarding places. They have entrances that are typically in the backroom of certain muggle shops or have an inconspicuous entrance in busy tourist areas. Such as this one." She nearly fell when he turned suddenly into a crowd, thankful for his height, she followed behind him as he walked briskly before suddenly turning in what she thought was an alley at first sight. As she made the turn after him, the alley appeared to widen and was much brighter; it was a cul-de-sac that had six small shops around it.

She looked around at the shops, noticing Severus was eyeing the one to her left, he had yet to choose a place she hadn't nodded at first, this was likely the closest she'd get to something she knew he would enjoy. She began to walk towards it, "Here, we can get Henry that beginner's potion kit." Not giving him a chance to respond, she walked in the shop quickly. The apothecary here was well lit in comparison to most she had been in. Severus had already gravitated towards a table at the front of the shop.

Squinting at the label, she read aloud, "Crushed graphorn horn, isn't that made of-," she was looking from his left side, in awe of the few jars sitting before them.

"Gold." She watched him curiously as he looked at the jar he was holding a moment longer, set it down and walked towards a nearby wall display of beginner's potion kits.

"This one, it is similar to what I purchased Katherine some time ago. Good quality for a beginner." He grabbed one and made his way to a counter, she was truly surprised, if not disappointed, that he hadn't lingered any longer.

They left the apothecary and she viewed the shop windows before getting an idea, "I'm going into that clothes shop, maybe I can find Katherine a set of robes. Why don't you see if that store Caliper's has anything of interest for the kids?" She hoped her assumption that he would not want to clothes shop would work, thankfully he agreed without seeming skeptical at all. She strode across the street as he went further down the cul-de-sac.

Walking into the storefront labeled as Mather's Millinery, she approached the front counter where a woman not much older than she was working. Not wanting to waste time shopping around, she asked the woman if they had any children's sized robes in a robin's egg blue shade.

She was finished in the shop within 15 minutes, apparating onto the step of the apothecary, quickly making her purchase, which was surprisingly less than she had believed it would be. After stowing it away, she quickly apparated back across the street and began to walk to the shop she had sent Severus in.

Finding him near the back, he was holding a stand that had a glass blown thunderbird in it. It was quite beautiful and she remarked so aloud, causing him to turn quickly.

"I wondered if Henry would like it. I believe I am getting Katherine one of these as well," he nodded towards a selection of glass blown magical creatures that Hermione only recognized a few of.

"Henry would like the thunderbird." She viewed alongside him before pulling one down. "I always thought occamies were gorgeous creatures, you should get her this one. The colors are amazing." He took it from her and observed it, the magical glass blowing technique allowed the creatures some movement, which made the shine on them even more fascinating.

He hadn't responded to her at this but went with her choice. They were exiting the store when she saw a glass blown wizarding gnome, which was quite ugly even in glass form. Smiling to herself, she knew she had just gotten an awful idea.

* * *

Considering the distance traveled from their leaving Boston, and the use of side-along apparition, he expected to be off-balance. He stood straighter before noticing she was still holding tight to his wrist, she seemed to realize it at the same time as well and released him quickly. It was late now, the sun was setting and he felt much colder, he knew this was because of their proximity to the ocean. The weather in this part of America was similar to the weather they were accustomed to in England.

He was watching the sunset over the ocean; despite the fog layering the coast, it was a remarkable sight, making a mental note to bring Katherine to this beach in particular. Realizing he should likely begin walking her to the inn, he turned to face her and felt a sudden warmth fall over him.

"Sorry, I assumed you were feeling a little chill too." She was also watching the sunset, speaking without looking at him. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Looking at her peculiarly, then back at the setting sun, he responded with a curt nod in response, giving her another moment before adding, "Shall we move on?"

He turned and began walking along the beach, thankful for the rocky beaches in this part of the country, he despised sand. Glancing over, he saw that she was keeping up with him while simultaneously taking in her surroundings. He was sure she would lose her footing on the rocky terrain if she did not pay attention to where her feet were going,

They finally began to pass a few homes along the beachside, he nodded towards the familiar structure ahead, it was a three-story stone building. A green flag that he recognized was waving from a staff on the balcony of the second level, as he had this thought, she spoke up from nearby.

"That's the Abenaki tribe flag, isn't it?"

"It is. Joseph descends from the Abenaki tribe, though he may not appear so. He has French Canadian ancestry as well, but he utilizes many tribal magical practices."

They turned onto a wooden walkway that had been built to lead to the beach from the inn, approaching the side entrance.

"How did you meet Joseph?" He heard her quite clearly but preferred not explaining the process of meeting Joseph under the circumstances of her ex-husband's father's near death, hoping he masked his nonresponse to her question under the guise of pulling the door open and the bells tinkling, signaling their entrance.

"Severus! And company! How are you doing old friend?" A man with medium length straight brown hair greeted them as they walked in, he came from around the counter holding his hand out. Severus took it, Joseph always was extremely friendly.

"I'm well enough, and you?"

He laughed backing away giving him a once over, then looking over his shoulder. "I'm alright, I'm alright, and who might this be Severus?"

"This is the guest I mentioned in my correspondence with you Joseph," before he could properly introduce her she held out her hand to his outstretched one towards her.

"Hermione Granger, Severus didn't mention your full name, Joseph," she paused for him to finish as they shook hands.

"Descoteaux, Joseph Descoteaux, you can call me Joe." Severus noticed an odd look between the two, perhaps a flash of recognition of her name from Joseph. Hermione Granger's name was well known he supposed, but she likely had never heard of him.

"Right, right, well it's nice to meet you Joe." She gave a polite smile, but he noticed she seemed slightly uncomfortable.

Noticing the time on the clock behind the counter, "Yes, Joseph if you wouldn't mind - we have a few destinations we would like to get to early tomorrow."

"Of course, I'll have Marie show you to your rooms. Marie!" A young girl, likely only a few years older than his Katherine, with long, dark hair, braided down her side appeared in a doorway behind the counter.

"This is my niece Marie, she'll show you to your rooms." He noticed Joseph's expression change as they walked away, he was watching them closely before turning and walking back behind the counter. Perhaps he should have had her give a different name, but it was done now. He would just keep an eye out, he had met Joseph through Albus but many of Albus' contacts were often questionable, he knew.

"Your rooms are this way, on the second level, they are across the hall from one another." She looked down at her clipboard, as the followed her up a set of stairs. "Mr. Snape, you'll be in room 5, it's our bayside suite," she nodded towards her left and then handed him a key, still looking at the clipboard she turned, "Ms. Granger, you'll be in room 6, one of our beach view suites." She handed her a key as well, "We serve a full breakfast, starting at 6 am until 9:30 am. Let us know if you need anything!" The girl walked back down the stairs away from them.

"I-," she paused as though she was struggling to find words, snapping her mouth shut she turned a shade of pink.

"I believe Joseph recognized your name, it's not uncommon for American wizards to be familiar with famous witches and wizards of Europe."

She tilted her head some at him, as though she was calculating him. It confused him, she suddenly shook her head and responded with a quiet, "Right, right…"

He noticed she still seemed troubled so he added, "I can ward your room if you are concerned."

She responded quickly at this, "No, no, it's okay. If I feel the need I can myself. Thank you though, Severus. What time would you like to leave?"

He didn't want to ruminate long on the woman's trouble, it should not be his concern, and yet. "Let's try to leave between 9 and 10. Whenever you are ready, I will meet you downstairs for breakfast and we can go from there."

"Right. Thank you again for today, I'll see you in the morning." She turned and opened the door to her room closing it silently behind her.

 _Well that was strange._

* * *

 **Sunday, Dec. 19th, 2010**

She had come down to breakfast early, having not slept well considering the man she had seen last night, questioning whether she should tell Severus just how she knew Joseph Descoteaux.

Sighing as she sat to eat, she hadn't even noticed the man sitting in close proximity to her until she glanced up and recognized the familiar magazine he was holding. She figured to get her mind off the topic she would start a conversation.

"My friend Luna owns the Quibbler, are you a subscriber or was that here when you arrived?" The man eyed her curiously before closing the magazine and looking at the front.

"I subscribe, they've had some interesting stories in the past, it's a more interesting read than the papers here at any rate." He took a drink of his coffee before adding, "So the editor is your friend?"

"She is, Luna and I went to school together, as well as her wife Ginny Weasley - you might recognize her name. She played on the Holyhead Harpies I think, I was never good with Quidditch but I tried to keep up with her."

The man suddenly grinned at her, "You know what miss," he pulled out a marker from his bag on the floor, "I want you to give this to your friends as a gift, for Christmas or what have you." He proceeded to sign the magazine and handed it to her. She was confused as he nodded politely at her, "You have a great day."

She shrugged to herself, putting the signed Quibbler in her bag, she hadn't recognized his name that he had signed but maybe Ginny or Luna would. She was still thinking on the matter when Joseph came in, causing her to tense slightly.

"Relax, I haven't told him. I figured he didn't know considering how he introduced us." She didn't say anything so he went on, "I won't say anything until you do. But I daresay he was suspicious of me after last night, he warded both your rooms." He laughed at her confused expression, "He probably thought I was going to kidnap you or try to get your autograph in the middle of the night."

Sighing, she responded, "Thank you, I will tell him, eventually."

"I would do it sooner than later, he's probably been curious about it for some time."

He began to leave the room when she suddenly remembered something, "Joseph, do you have an owl I can send to Boston for a mail-order?" He looked at her quizzically and nodded, she pulled out a sheet of parchment from her bag and quickly wrote out her request, folding and sealing it with money enclosed. "It's for Jobberknoll Press."

"I'll have Marie send it straight away," he took the letter from her.

"Thank you, Joseph," she smiled in response as he left the room without another word.

She had been contemplating how to best approach the subject of her knowing Joseph with Severus when the man himself walked in. The room was empty now, he made himself a drink and sat across from her, silently.

As he finished his drink, he finally spoke, "Portland's wizarding community isn't large, there is only one area, slightly larger than the first spot we found in Boston."

"Whenever you are ready then, I already have my things." She lifted the beaded bag on her side slightly, he nodded in response before standing. She stood after him and followed him out into the hall that led back to the front entrance. Joseph was standing at the counter, she looked at him reassuringly, and Severus nodded at him to signal his departure.

"Out so early," he came around the counter to hold the door for them, "You're both welcome back any time, as you already know Severus. Keep me in the loop with any new concoctions you may be developing."

"Of course." Severus was as polite as he could appear to be.

"Thank you for the accommodations Joseph, the view from my room was fantastic. I'll definitely have to come back, I know my son would love it."

He nodded and smiled in response to her, "I'll be awaiting your owl."

She noticed Severus was watching her, she interpreted it as confusion at her warmness towards Joseph. Not wanting to linger, she headed out the door and he followed close after. They walked down the walkway that led towards the beach.

"We can apparate from here." He held out his arm to her and she took it, there was a pop and they were gone.

* * *

He apparated her straight into the Portland wizarding community, the underground Eastern Promenade. As most of their walks had been, he remained mostly silent, except to acknowledge her comments on points of interest related to her research. There was much less here than there had been in Salem or Boston that she could point out from her research, and as such, he assumed that explained her extended silence during their walk.

Eventually he decided he needed to enter a shop, as they had been walking for some time without her venturing anywhere on her own. "Longfellow's Emporium, it has gifts for writers, we may find something for Katherine." He didn't wait for her to respond when he started to enter the building, she slowly followed after him. Obviously something was distracting her but he didn't think it his place to question it.

As they browsed, he noticed she had picked up what appeared to be a muggle fountain pen. She observed it for some time, sat it down and was reading the label that was in the box. He watched as she lingered at it for some time before setting it down and venturing further into the shop. Stepping forward, he quickly read the information on the card.

 _Introducing the Effingo Fountain Pen! An innovative no-maj creation improved with magic._

 _The Effingo is enchanted for the writer to write on anything and it will automatically appear in the notebook they have it connected to. Our local authors love this pen! Marcus Artello, author of national bestseller 'The Top of the Stairs' swears by our Effingo. "Most of my book was written with my Effingo, I'd be out shopping or having a briskbeer and suddenly have an idea and didn't have my notebook. I'd just whip out my Effingo and write down my idea on my napkin. I'd get home later that evening and my thoughts would be in my notebook."_

It sounded like an advertisement he would hear on Tilden Toots radio broadcast, but if it truly worked it would likely be a worthwhile investment for her as a writer. Turning to determine where she had gone off to, he spotted her at a back table holding two notebooks.

As he approached she turned to him and held them out, "They're connected notebooks! The kids would love them, they could write to one another and not need to wait for an owl response or for one of us to owl for them."

Taking one from her, he flipped through it. It was an interesting concept, and he did agree with her, the kids would love it. "I agree, I think they would enjoy them."

"Good, I chose this orange one for Henry, the blue one I thought Katherine would like." He nodded in agreement. They went to make their purchases, he knew she was still lost in thought and didn't notice his second item as she walked off after paying for the notebook for Henry.

They exited the shop and walked around for some time, stopping at a small cafe for a drink and to get out of the cold. After spending some time here, he followed her to walk through the Abenaki Museum of Magical History. She seemed more like her usual self until they left, and she again became more reserved.

It was some time before she spoke, "Severus, I need to tell you something."

He paused in his stride, she looked rather serious and he was concerned. _Did this have something to do with her interactions with Joseph?_ "Go on."

He watched as she shifted her weight from one side to the other, "I know Joseph Descoteaux, I have for quite a few years now, although I've never met him." She began walking up the street more, he followed close by, bewildered by her confession.

After a longer pause than he thought necessary, he finally started to speak, "How-," she cut him off before he could finish.

"He taught me to brew the Maledictus Antivenin." He came to a sudden halt and she did as well. His mind was whirring, he felt confusion, some anger, followed quickly by understanding, and then…

"You saved my life."

She shuffled slightly in place but didn't respond to his statement.

"How did you know to contact Joseph?"

All she said in response to this was, "Minerva told me."

 _Of course she did._ He felt like he should be angry, and perhaps part of him was. He had always intended to die at the end of the war. There was hardly any fight left in him at that point, he had allowed too much to slip by in his life and he knew there couldn't possibly be anything in the future that could correct the path that his life had taken him. But then there was, Katherine was his purpose now. He couldn't react to her with anger because it would show that part of him still believed he should be dead, but he no longer felt that way. She even seemed to be bracing herself for his anger.

He turned to her, trying to think of every moment he had spent with Katherine to show his sincerity.

* * *

"Thank you."

She nearly collapsed from bated breath, the tension had been killing her. _He thanked me._ She wasn't sure of the exact reaction she had expected but it certainly wasn't this, it was a relief. It had never come up so she had been able to ignore the fact after reconnecting with him because she wasn't sure if he knew or not. Her meeting Joseph made it clear that he did not know.

"You're welcome…" She paused, giving him time to process the matter, she started to shiver, it had begun to snow again.

"Let's get lunch before we leave." He didn't comment on the matter further, instead, he began to walk. Perhaps he was getting cold too, she thought.

* * *

AN: The quote at the beginning is an homage to Longfellow who was from Portland, Maine. Ocean Park is also a real place that I stayed near for vacation this summer, it's a beautiful Chautauqua community that's still active today. The Abenaki are the Native American tribe that is native to the area. Please leave a review or comment if you enjoyed it! Next chapter is Christmas, shouldn't be long before I have it finished. After that my schedule is going to get a little hectic again as school starts back in August!


	7. Chapter 7: Christmas Tidings

**Chapter 7:** Christmas Tidings

" _A lovely thing about Christmas is that it's_

 _compulsory, like a thunderstorm, and we all go through it together._ "  
–Garrison Keillor, Leaving Home

 **Dec. 25th, 2010**

That morning she woke slowly, the sunlight was falling in a line between her drapes onto her bedspread. As she shifted from her side to her back, the line of light hit her directly across the face. Sighing, she folded her bedspread down but before she could even push herself up all the way, Henry had come running into the room.

"Mum! Gifts!" And then he disappeared as quickly as he had appeared, she heard him running down the stairs in earnest. Laughing to herself, she got up and grabbed her robe, making her way down the stairs. They took turns on where Henry would stay the night on Christmas Eve each year, she loved having him here on these mornings. Opening gifts was always more entertaining with Henry opening his with her, years that he wasn't with her she often waited to open her gifts until the following day when he came back.

"Slow down, I want to see what you're getting!" He had already started sorting their gifts, moving hers in a pile in front of her usual armchair. She sat, smiling as she watched him begin to open his pile.

"Mum check this out!" He had opened what seemed to be a miniature flat landscape that contained what appeared to be…

"Dragons! Isn't this neat mum? It's from dad and Uncle George!"

She nodded at him, it was neat, she was impressed with Ron's gift for once. She felt slightly guilty at the thought, but the past few years Ron had tried getting Henry into Quidditch or various joke items that they had at the shop but Henry just wasn't interested.

As she opened her gifts, she glanced up as Henry began to add to his pile with the usual Weasley sweater from his grandmother, various chocolates and candies, a set of gobstones from Ginny and Luna, many books from other family and herself of course. She received similar gifts, mostly books and quills, which she never disliked but she typically used muggle pens. Perhaps Katherine would take some of these off her hands…

She had been thinking of the quills as she opened her next gift. She gasped, it was the Effingo pen she had seen in America. _How…_ She pulled it out of the small box, turning it over in her hands, she grinned and shook her head in disbelief. Flipping the box over, she saw there was no name on the box but it seemed obvious who had sent it to her. She looked over at her son who had also just opened gifts from Katherine and Severus.

"Mum look! A potion set! And… what's this mum?" He held up the leatherbound journal that she and Severus had decided on.

"Katherine got one for Christmas too. If you write in yours, whatever it is you say will also appear in Katherine's journal. It's easier than you two owling one another constantly."

He flipped the journal over in awe. "That's neat! Can I try it mum?" She nodded as he hopped over his pile, she handed him one of the quills she had received and he flipped it open and began to write.

* * *

Severus had been in shock for most of the morning, even more so than he had been throughout the week following the revelation of who he owed his life. Shock seemed to be constantly forming his opinion of Hermione Granger. She was intelligent, he had finally begrudgingly admitted, and to his honest surprise was not quite as annoying as he had always believed her to be. Although rather than the incessant hand raising, she now smiled infuriatingly often. Her company had been more forced upon him for Katherine's sake, and yet he had found that it was not her company he disliked. What he currently disliked was the feeling of owing anyone anything…

He was glad to have opened his few gifts at his home rather than taking them with him to Draco's, as he did with Katherine's. It was nice for her to open her gifts alongside more family, and she wanted to deliver Scorpius' gift from her in person. His mind was still reeling at the gift he had received from Hermione Granger when he noticed Katherine was standing in front of him holding the leatherbound journal they had chosen for her.

"Daddy, what's this? It feels different than most of my other journals." She was holding it close to her chest, she could probably feel the magic imbued he assumed.

"Your friend also received one for Christmas, they are connected journals. You can communicate through these journals by simply writing to one another, the tab on the front will change colors when he has written something new in his, and it will appear in yours for you to see his message."

She was grinning at him, "That's so neat! Thanks daddy!" She threw her arms around his neck before rushing back to the floor to continue her gift opening. He noticed that Draco was observing him with an eyebrow raised, but it could be ignored for now.

He fell back into his daze, taking a small drink of the cocktail Astoria had made him. _She saw me look at it… I didn't even check the price, I knew it had to be outrageous. And yet…_ He considered giving it back to her, but what would she do with it? She couldn't return it and he doubted she would ever use graphorn horn for anything. It was ridiculous though, he knew many of the gifts she had purchased for her friends and they still couldn't have amounted to what she had probably spent on that one ingredient. _And when had she done it?_ He didn't recall leaving her while in the Boston Apothecary, but perhaps he missed it while she made her purchases. _Or she went back that evening?_ The only time he had left her was when she went into Mather's Millinery and found Katherine a set of robes. _Maybe she hadn't taken as long as he thought._

He needed to quit dwelling on the matter, it was done, but he couldn't help but question her motives. The things he felt he owed to Hermione Granger were piling, and he truly, _truly_ did not like owing anyone anything.

* * *

"Daddy, look!" Katherine had just opened another gift, he nearly smacked his forehead as she held up a familiar stone muggle gnome.

"I overheard Rory and Henry discussing a girl named Katherine. Is she a neighbor that Henry's been spending time with or something?"

She shifted slightly, glancing at Ginny, who averted her eyes immediately. Harry wasn't near enough to help her. "Er, well yes. She is, Henry spends a lot of time with her, they've become quite good friends."

Ron nodded at her, waiting to respond after swallowing his last bite of dessert. "That's good he has a friend then, d'ya you think he might like her more than that though, huh?" He gave a suggestive grin, glancing down the table at his son who was eating quietly while Rory talked loudly about her latest quidditch escapade.

"He's 9 years old Ronald. Of course he only views her as a friend." She rolled her eyes at him before standing, "I'm going out for some air." Walking out of the room, she made eye contact with Ginny again who gave her a sorry look before turning her attention back to a conversation with Molly.

 _Of course, Ron would assume Henry has a crush._ Pacing in the Burrow's front garden, she let out a breath of air. She wished she was back home. She wished she was at a library. She wished she was on the beach… Ocean Park's beach was beautiful, she wished she could go back. It was unfortunate to spend only a single night there. Suddenly, she had the feeling she was being watched, turning on the spot she saw Ron standing a few feet away.

"Sorry, I was making sure I didn't upset you." He had enough decency to look ashamed, "I know he's only 9, I wasn't interested in girls like that then either. I've just never seen Henry talk to kids that aren't his cousins."

"It's fine Ron, I'm not upset. I'm just tired, you know how I feel about large gatherings."

"Right… Well, I'd like to meet this Katherine sometime, maybe her parents would let her visit Henry when he stays with me?"

She tried not to laugh, she refused to let Ron find out like this so she resolved to just agree. "Yeah, maybe."

"I'm just going to head back in then, sorry again."

Facing the empty field, she listened as his footsteps receded back into the cacophony. She liked the quiet. It was part of the reason things never worked out with Ron, she knew. There was always so much noise, whether it was the experiments for Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes or him inviting family over without warning her. She liked her solitude.

She heard another body approach her, not caring enough to check, assuming it was Harry or Ginny. Proving her guess right, it was Ginny's voice that spoke from somewhere to her left. "You're right not to have told him, give it time so he has no choice but to be okay with it." Obviously she knew she hadn't told him, the entire house would have known if Ron had found out.

"Henry and Katherine are so close already, I doubt he could even begin to attempt to sever it, honestly."

"Ron's an idiot. I love him, but he can be really thick sometimes…" She paused, Hermione could feel Ginny's energy teeming but seemed to be keeping herself from bursting with questions.

"You're dying to ask me something… come out with it then." Smiling at her to show she was serious, Ginny took the opportunity.

"You never said how America was! Was it awkward with just the two of you?" Ginny pulled her arm and forced her to sit on the grass.

Laughing as she let herself be pulled, she relaxed. These family gatherings of the Weasley's were always so taxing on her, she loved getting away and having the little one on one chats with people. The conversations always felt more genuine.

"It was awkward at first. I think we're both unsure how to act towards one another as equals. He's standoffish but polite. It was nice, having a weekend away from the kids though. He is a great travel partner, so knowledgeable on many different areas of wizarding culture, it was honestly a good trip for research for my next book." She made sure not to add any reference to Joseph or her secret she had revealed to Severus.

"He's good for you, Hermione." She pushed her shoulder when Hermione raised both brows at her. "You know what I mean, as in you're equals. You're both recluses clearly, but are cognitively matched well, based on what you've said at least."

Considering her words for a moment, she then turned looking at Ginny seriously, "It really doesn't bother you? You were at Hogwarts when he was Headmaster… I didn't witness it, I wasn't there, it was easier for me to forgive and forget."

Ginny tilted her head in thought, she seemed to be reminiscing. "Honestly Hermione, we never saw him. He was hardly present at meals, he never oversaw punishment. When Neville, Luna, and I broke in to get the sword, he took charge of the punishment and we expected it to be awful… but he just sent us down to Hagrid's." Pausing, she turned to face Hermione. "That was the only punishment he oversaw the entire school year I think, we were always in the most trouble. You know, I think he knew that we would be punished unbelievably worse had he given us to the Carrows. Giving us to Hagrid to help him in the Forbidden Forest was the nicest thing he could have possibly done, and he had to have known it would be easy punishment. Of course, at the time we hated him and thought he was an idiot for thinking it as a punishment. In retrospect, we should have noticed it was odd, I suppose."

Hermione didn't respond. She was probably right, Severus likely knew the Carrows would torture them beyond recognition for having stolen from the headmaster. He made it seem like it was such a serious ordeal that he took the punishment out of their hands and made it appear like going into the Forbidden Forest was far worse than anything they could do to them.

"The Carrow's punishments were worse than Umbridge's, they used unforgivables and forced us to use them on others too." She cringed some, Hermione knew about the Carrow's treatment from the review the ministry had during their reopening of Hogwarts.

"I'm sorry Gin, I didn't mean to make you relive any of that."

Ginny smiled at her reassuringly, "It's okay Hermione, if I hadn't gone through all that I had that year, I know I wouldn't have connected with Luna the way I do. We went through everything together, and I remember how scared I was when she didn't come back to school. I think that I knew then, it just took longer for life to bring us back together." They were quiet for a stretch of time when Ginny suddenly jumped, "Oh! I nearly forgot with all the Snape talk, where on earth did you get a Quibbler signed by Hector Lamont? That has to be one of the best gifts I've ever gotten. Luna framed it and hung it up in our living room." Hermione started laughing.

"He happened to be staying at the inn that weekend and I had a discussion with him without knowing who he was, I didn't look his name up until I got home." Ginny scoffed at her as she continued her story, "We had breakfast that morning downstairs, I noticed he was reading a copy of the Quibbler, so obviously I pointed out that I was good friends with Luna. The conversation went from there to you, and he signed it and said to give it to you." She shrugged, it was no big deal to her at least, but Ginny was gaping at her.

"Ron will be so jealous, only you would sit and have breakfast with a retired Quidditch star and have no idea who he is." She shook her head at her, "Did Snape know who he was?"

Hermione thought back to that morning… "I'm not sure, he didn't come down until after he had left. I didn't mention it because I didn't think of it as a big deal, I suppose he could know who he is." She laughed when Ginny groaned at her.

"Well other than meeting a retired Quidditch star, how was America then?"

"It was amazing - like I said I got plenty of information for my research. We visited various shops in Portland, Salem, and Boston. It's honestly refreshing to research an area where the history doesn't almost entirely revolve around pureblood supremacy. Almost every other culture had their form of that belief surrounding wizards. American culture was newer and intertwined with Native American culture, where the birth of wizards in non-magical families was seen as a gift from nature. In early Native American culture, their non-magical population cohabited peacefully with those with magic. It didn't alter until European involvement, but even those early travelers that had magic didn't care about blood status because there were so few of them to begin with." Hermione let out a breath after explaining all of this, Ginny was listening but clearly not extremely interested, she laughed in apology to her friend. "I'm sorry, but in all, the trip was amazing, I'd love to take Henry one day."

She nodded in response, "Or, hear me out, we could forget the kids and you could take me, maybe I'll meet a few stars because I can recognize them." Hermione rolled her eyes at her but grinned.

"We should probably get back in there." Ginny stood and held out her hand to help her up.

"I suppose we should…" Taking her hand, she was pulled off the ground. Dusting her clothes off, she turned and mentally prepared herself for the continued exuberance of the Weasley family Christmas.

* * *

Hermione returned home that evening alone, Henry was to stay with his father for the night as he had spent Christmas Eve with her. Though she enjoyed her solitude, she disliked the pang of emptiness she had when her son was not with her, especially during the holidays.

She pulled out her wand to clean the wrappings they had left strewn in the sitting room where they had opened gifts that morning. Sitting in her usual armchair, she summoned a new empty notebook from her study and began to read the instructions for connecting the Effingo pen to it.

After finishing the final touches, she stood and stretched, glancing at the clock. It was a little after nine, maybe she should just turn in early. Not a moment had gone by from this thought when she heard a rap at her door. _Who on earth could that be?_

Standing to answer it she held her wand slightly behind her back, as she pulled the door open slightly to reveal Severus Snape. Giving a sigh of relief, she pulled the door open wide to allow him to come in. He seemed to hesitate for a moment before stepping in.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" She raised her brows at him as he stood awkwardly in her entryway. Realizing he was struggling on finding words, she quickly remedies her words. "I made tea not too long ago, I'll pour you a cup. You can have a seat in there if you'd like." She nodded towards the sitting room and then made her way up the hall.

Not wasting time, she poured him a cup and headed back down to find him in the sitting room, but still standing.

"The seats aren't cursed, you know."

He ignored her, keeping silent for a few long moments before finally speaking. "I need to know… why? Why did you do it?"

She knew what this was about but she stumbled for a moment, "What, buy you a gift?"

He waved his hand at her impatiently, "That as well, but why me? There were countless injured critically at the battle, you could have saved any one of these people or even multiple. Why?"

She bit her lip, sitting down in her chair, she had laid his tea down on the side table where she knew it would go ignored.

"Well, I hadn't intended to… we, well you know we left after you gave Harry the memory." He gave her an almost piercing glare at the mention of this. "I never saw what it contained, Harry was the only one that went into the pensieve. Ron and I had no idea of your loyalty until Harry's final encounter with Voldemort. He shouted about you never being his and you were Dumbledore's and… this and that. It shocked me but almost immediately I remembered you laying in a pile of your own blood, presumably dead." She shivered at the memory, he had sat finally.

"I didn't go back until Harry finished him. As soon as he fell and everyone started cheering, I ran out in the ensuing chaos of his defeat. I found you just where we had left you, and I just knew you were gone. You were cold." He was watching her so closely now, it made her nervous to continue but she forged on.

"I figured I would try pouring as much blood replenishing potion down your throat as possible, your body warmed some and I felt a pulse, weak, but it was there. I sent a Patronus to Minerva saying I was bringing you into the castle but I would take you down to the dungeons. There were many that may have overreacted had I brought you directly into the Great Hall to see Madam Pomfrey." He seemed to agree with the statement, nodding ever so slightly.

"I put dittany on your wounds to temporarily halt the blood flow, disillusioned you and brought you back into the castle." At these words, he reached up and rubbed at his neck slightly. She knew he still had the scars, they were still bright and appeared freshly healed the days before she quit coming to his ward in St. Mungo's as he had slowly regained consciousness.

"From there I just kept repeating the process, Minerva eventually came down and started swearing at you for not telling her the truth and whatnot and was near tears. She told me about Joseph having helped you with Arthur's injury from Nagini. We were desperate, I sent him a Patronus explaining the situation briefly, hoping he would believe us. Not even 15 minutes had passed when he responded with a Patronus that detailed out the instructions for the Maledictus antivenin. I copied them down, I had to have his Patronus repeat it several times before I got it all".

She paused, she knew she was going fast but she was nervous. _Why had he waited to question me?_ He shifted in his seat, still staring avidly at her so she continued reluctantly.

"I brewed it myself, I continued administering the blood replenishing and dittany to keep you stable but you were weakening quickly… Luckily all the ingredients were there. It only took 12 hours to brew, as I guess you know. Minerva relieved me to look over you a few times to avoid anyone getting suspicious. We didn't tell anyone until you were stable, there were some who may have tried to sabotage our attempt to save you and others that would have got in the way and hindered it by pushing us too hard to save you."

"Potter." He scowled, shaking his head at the floor as he said it.

"Yes, I didn't tell him until we had you checked into St. Mungo's ward. Harry tried visiting but you were always unconscious so he eventually gave up. I didn't quit coming until you showed signs of waking up. Then you disappeared again."

They were silent for some time before he spoke again.

"You still haven't answered my question though, why me?" He sounded frustrated. She was confused, hadn't he thanked me when I first confessed?

"Severus, why not you? You were worth saving." He seemed as if he was about to protest this answer but she continued to silence him, "I didn't know the details of your past like Harry but I recognized your loyalty and your sacrifice. You had a duel life for years working under Voldemort and Dumbledore." His face was unreadable, she then added, "I thought you deserved a chance at living just one life."

"I am not sorry you did it, I needed to know your intentions." She was puzzled even further at his response when he added, "I've spent too much time owing others, but I am in your debt for giving me this life with my daughter."

Smiling at him, she reached over to her coffee table and grabbed the Effingo, "You never owed me anything but you can consider this payment I suppose, if it helps."

"Ah, that brings me to the graphorn. I will pay you whatever you paid for that, it is too expensive an item—"

Cutting him off, "Don't pay me for it, you got me the pen, we're even."

He was clearly skeptical.

"Severus, I swear you do not owe me anything, for one reason or another. Friends get one another gifts, end of story."

That threw him. _Oops I used the f word…_ He didn't speak a word for a moment and suddenly stood, as if something had bitten him.

"I apologize for interrupting your evening." He walked to her door to let himself out, she followed him and watched him disappear into the night.

"Goodnight then," she shook her head, speaking only to the silence as he had left.

* * *

 _Katherine, let me know if you can see this! -Henry_

 _I can! Sorry, I'm not sure how long ago you wrote that, I'm staying the night at my Uncle Draco's._

 _It's okay, I'm at my dad's house now, we just got back from my gran's house. What all did you get for Christmas?_

 _I got lots, your mum got me a beautiful set of robes! I got a few records, several books and journals, a glass occamy, and then this notebook from my dad. Aunt Astoria and Uncle Draco got me some jewelry and a really pretty mirror. What about you?_

 _Are your aunt and uncle your only other family? I got the notebook from mum and a bunch of other books, she got me an arithmancy chart set and a glass thunderbird too. My dad got me this miniature landscape that has dragons flying around in it, it's neat. Gran made me a sweater, and I got some other things from my aunts and uncles, I'm not really sure who got me what now. Your dad got me a beginner's potion set though!_

 _That's great! I'm jealous of your family, it sounds huge. I've only ever had my aunt and uncle around. I've met my Aunt Minnie a few times, but it's been a couple of years since I've seen her now._

 _Who's your Aunt Minnie? And don't be too jealous, sometimes they can be really loud._

 _Dad said she worked as the head of Hogwarts I think, she was really nice from what I remember. She gave me lots of candy. I don't think she's really my aunt, but that's what she told me to call her._

 _Oh! Headmistress McGonagall, I've met her too but it's usually only while mum is at the annual celebration for the end of the war. That's so neat she has you call her aunt! Maybe you'll be in luck when we start at Hogwarts!_

 _I don't know, I'm nervous about that too._

 _What for? You're easily smarter than any of my cousins. (When you meet Rory, don't tell her I said that)_

 _It's complicated, I just never had any friends before you, and I'm really close to my dad so I'm scared to be so far away from him… and I don't really want him to be alone either._

 _I think the same about mum, she doesn't get out much I think when I'm at dads. She may visit my Aunt Gin and Aunt Luna but that's it. She doesn't have many friends outside of our family I think._

 _She has my dad! I don't know if they're friends but we should work on that._

 _Definitely! They already see each other enough because of us and they're both really smart._

 _Let's work out how we can do that another time, my aunt is calling me for dinner! Bye Henry!_

 _Bye!_

* * *

AN: The school year is starting back up for me next week! I've spent the past two weeks getting my classroom ready and writing parts of the next few chapters. Since I'll have less free time, the next chapter may not be posted until my next break. Please continue to review and I promise I will post as soon as I can! My sister has done some art for this story because she loves Katherine and Henry so much, I'll try to get her to upload it somewhere for you all to view that too!


	8. Chapter 8: Instructional Experiences

AN: This update has not been read over by a second pair of eyes so if you notice any errors in either grammar or continuity you can message me or cross your fingers that I'll fix them as soon as my dear Brent looks over it. & kudos to Q_Drew who gave the idea for the pub name you'll see further down, love you Q :) (and you guys check her stuff out on Ao3 too, she's rad)

* * *

 **Chapter 8:** Instructional Experiences

" _For last year's words belong to last year's language. And next year's words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning."_

– T.S. Eliot

 **December 31st, 2010**

It had been almost a week since Christmas, the morning of New Year's Eve in fact. Hermione had not heard from Severus since that night but based on the conversations she had with Henry and his communications with Katherine, she knew that they were spending a lot of time at the Malfoy's. She had tried not to lean into her friend comment being responsible for his avoidance, but she honestly wouldn't be surprised. She just hoped her reference to him as a friend would not alter the friendship that their children had.

Henry was currently spending time at Ginny and Luna's for New Years while she had a quick meet up with her editor in Diagon Alley about her progress on her next book.

"I'll have this one done by March, Charles, it's really come along. I'm expecting some time to travel to the locations I've researched soon as well, hopefully, it will help."

"Oh, travel? Since when have you designated any of your time for travel?"

She contemplated her response carefully, "I just decided I needed more than books to conduct my research. If I continue to write my own culminating texts based only on what I have read in other books, I'm never going to write anything truly new or groundbreaking am I?"

Charles looked at her for a moment, she couldn't place his expression. _Does he not believe me?_

Then he began grinning at her. "I didn't know your goal was to be groundbreaking, Hermione."

She shrugged in response, "It's not really the goal, but if I have the ability to travel quickly, then why not do that?"

"Fair. Well, I do believe whatever you do write will be great, travel or not. Try not to add several extra chapters based on what you find though, my editing process takes time, you know that." He smiled at her, "You know, off-topic, but Gareth was in last week asking about you. You haven't checked in with any of your old colleagues at the ministry lately, have you?"

She groaned, "No, and why should I?"

He smirked at her in response, "You know Gareth has a soft spot for you, he wasn't super vocal for your cause but he tried supporting you in his own silent way." Charles turned away and added in an afterthought, "He's not bad looking either."

Hermione scoffed, "I see what you're doing Charles, I'm fine, I don't need your matchmaking side business to go with my editing needs. Keep your day job."

He held his hands up as if surrendering, "Hey, hey, I'm not doing anything. Just stating facts."

"Well state facts about this instead, I'll keep you updated if I change anything." She tossed her manuscript down on his desk and turned to walk out. "Have a good New Years Charles," she tried to sound sincere even if her exit was more forward than usual.

"Yeah, you too Hermione." She could still hear the smirk in his voice.

* * *

Instead of heading to Ginny and Luna's immediately, she decided she needed a break, more in the form of a drink. She apparated back home before realizing she had no wine or anything left in the house, as she used the bulk of it at Christmas for gifts and whatnot.

Reconsidering the idea of a drink, she began to head out the door to go see Henry anyway before having the memory of a small local pub down the road. It had some funny name that she had always laughed at as a child when her grandfather would walk her around town.

She never really like the bar scene but she felt the need to get away, she had been working nonstop on this book and truly the little time she had felt relaxed was the trip she had taken to America. Ginny always told her she needed to relax more but she hadn't realized how much she was missing until she had finally relaxed some. Of course, the person she was with would have been the last person anyone, including herself, would say they could relax around.

Between her divorce, job changes, continuously working on books to keep her head above water, her grandparents passing, moving to a new location, and making sure Henry is happy, she hadn't given herself time to ensure she was happy as well. She was happy that Henry was doing well, but she couldn't say for much else. Her divorce was necessary but it hadn't hurt any less for it. She had not seriously dated many people since. There were a few men here and there that had seemed decent, but she couldn't get past one specific problem with them. After looking past all Ron's faults, she couldn't seem to get past any man's little faults long enough to give them a chance.

Ginny said that was good, she knew her worth. That was true, Hermione knew she would never settle for less than she deserved. Did that mean she would be alone forever, though? Charles suggesting Gareth's interest in her had triggered all of these thoughts. _No wonder I need a drink._

At this point, her thoughts had led her all the way to the Fainting Goat Pub down the road, which she did briefly look fondly at the name, remembering her grandfather. She hoped it wasn't crowded for New Years, she had always heard most of the town cleared out to the next town over for their large fireworks show.

She walked in cautiously, it seemed safe enough. There were two men at the bar discussing their day at work and a young couple sitting at a corner table having a few drinks. Aside from that, the only other person there was the bartender. She took a seat at the end of the bar closest to the door where she could see everyone, including anyone that came in. She disliked having her back to people.

The bartender took her order and brought her drink to her it seemed in the same breath. He was quick and seemed comfortable in his job. He'd probably been here years, she wondered if he knew her grandfather. She considered asking but thought better of it. Instead, she pulled out her notebook and her new pen and began writing out a new idea for a book, sipping at her drink casually.

She had been sitting there maybe an hour, having finished her first drink and was given a second without even asking. He probably was used to this kind of behavior. She hadn't spoken to anyone the entire time and no one else had entered the pub until the door jingled to signal someone entering, causing her to glance up and do a double-take.

* * *

He noticed her the same time she noticed him, it would have been too rude of him to turn and walk out after making eye contact. He sighed internally and made his way towards her, taking the stool two seats down from her, mostly due to the papers she had spread out around her. Ordering his drink he turned to her slightly, she was still looking at him with what seemed to be apprehension.

Unsure what to say, he opened his mouth and closed it twice before she spoke. "Henry mentioned you and Katherine have been staying at Draco's. Are you all back in town now?"

He nodded, thankful she started the conversation. "We are, Draco's sister-in-law has not been well for some time but took a turn for the worse after Christmas day. I was able to slow the effects some but I doubt she will last much longer if I'm unable to come up with a cure."

"Astoria's sister… Daphne, right?" He nodded in response. "What sort of cure have you been trying? Anything I can help with?"

He resisted a sarcastic response, he knew it wasn't necessary, but he was still short with her. "No, it isn't anything you can help with."

"Right… well. If you think of anything I can do, let me know."

"I will keep it in mind…" He thought better of his short comments and added after taking a drink, "Is Henry with Mr. Weasley for New Years?"

"No, he's supposed to be with me. Ginny and the kids are having a get together to watch fireworks. I'll probably go over there in a little bit, I just needed a break after meeting with my editor this afternoon."

"Bad meeting?" He was somewhat curious about this, after having read her other books he couldn't imagine her editor having anything negative to say about her work.

"No, not really, I'm just… exhausted. Everything the past few months, years to be honest, has been nonstop. I just needed to breathe, as one needs to do occasionally, I guess." She said all this without looking at him, she was looking into her half-empty glass.

He let the long pause sit for some time, silently ordering another drink from Jim.

"On the 7th I'm starting up my lessons with Katherine again, Henry can start with me then as well. If it helps any, I can keep him later as well. They are capable of occupying one another until you come." In an afterthought, he added, "As I said, not a babysitting service, but it will not hinder my work. They are old enough to not need our constant supervision I believe."

"Thank you, Severus. I doubt it will ever be very late. Once I finish this book, I have one more idea in the works. I think I will need a break or a new job after that."

He found that interesting, "What would you rather be doing?"

She shut her notebook and put it away, finally turning to him. She looked genuinely frustrated and lost, perhaps it was because she was slightly intoxicated. "I have no idea, really, I don't know what I would have done with my life had the war never happened. That's where my thoughts keep going, but my life was so shaped by the war and Harry that I genuinely don't think anything would be the same."

He could relate to that, he supposed he could say as much. "I can understand that sentiment. The war changed my life course as well."

At this point, she seemed to realize something and slapped herself fairly hard on the forehead. "No Severus, I don't mean to compare my experience to yours. It's entirely different, you faced so much worse than most did. The war altered your life in unimaginable ways. I'm sorry, you don't need to compare the experience at all. I apologize for complaining about my problems with you."

She seemed to be prepared to leave and something possessed him that clearly wasn't himself. Perhaps it was the third drink he had that was quite stronger than the other two, but he put his arm up to keep her from leaving, not quite touching her but close enough that had she moved forward anymore he would have been.

"You are allowed to complain to me, despite the severity of my experiences in comparison to yours, you still went through a war and your experiences are valid. It altered your life course just as much as it did mine. We were both extremely young when we experienced the effects of Tom Riddle's choices." He paused for a moment before adding something that surprised even him for saying it, "And we both survived and ended up with amazing children. It wasn't all bad if it took all of those experiences to get us here."

She was crying now, he definitely did not know how to deal with that. He stood quickly and paid for both their drinks with some cash. "Come, you need air."

He grimaced to himself as she pulled herself up and followed him out of the pub. _What on earth am I doing?_

* * *

She realized who she was crying in front of as they stepped out into the cold air. "Shite, Severus. I am so sorry. I am usually not like this. I don't know what's gotten into me. I should go see Henry, they're having that fireworks show in the village near Ginny and Luna's home and he'll want me to be there."

He raised both brows at her as if confused but he nodded, "At least let me summon you a potion to sober you up. I believe you have had more than you think." He was probably right. She nodded at him as they turned into an alley, she pulled out her wand to clean up her appearance some and get rid of the puffiness on her face. He pulled out his wand and pointed it into his pocket, summoning what looked to be a pepper-up potion, which he then handed to her.

She took it, swallowing it quickly and handing the vial back. She shook herself slightly and straightened up, she already felt much better. Turning towards Severus, she met his eyes. "Thank you, Severus, you know if you'd like to get Katherine and meet me, Ginny wouldn't mind if-" he cut her off, expectantly.

"I'd prefer to avoid contact with Weasley's for the time being, Katherine should be brought to my home by Astoria shortly. If you'd be comfortable in doing so, I will allow you to take her so she can spend time with Henry."

She nodded, "Severus, I'm really sorry, and thank you for the potion and listening. You didn't have to stay and put up with whatever that performance of mine just was." She rocked on her heels, not making eye contact. He kept surprising her and confusing her left and right, but she supposed that was just who Severus was as a person.

It was this thought that led her to believe she had completely imagined the whispered gruff response she heard, " _That's what friends are for_."

* * *

He had walked home, allowing Granger to walk beside him rather than asking her to wait at home for him to retrieve Katherine for some ridiculous reason. It was starting to frustrate the hell out of him. He truly had not realized how much he had changed until this person from his past had popped back up in his life. It was nearly impossible to be the scathing man he once was, the private man he preferred to be, all because he had become better at considering his words and actions carefully as he raised a daughter. Katherine had completely changed him, and of course, it had to be for the better.

They had arrived and he silently invited her in, gesturing her to follow him into the house. She waited in his kitchen as he made her a glass of tea. As he sat the cup in front of her, he heard the sound of the door opening and Katherine running in.

"Daddy!"

"In the kitchen," he responded loud enough for her to hear, turning towards the entryway. Katherine came bounding in, gave him a quick hug and quickly noticed his guest.

"Hermione! How are you? Where's Henry?" She seemed to already be glancing around for him. Astoria had come into view in the entryway, observing the encounter silently. He was in unfamiliar territory, so he stayed silent.

"He's at his aunt's house. Your father and I were just discussing this, if you'd like to come with me, I can take you to a fireworks show that Henry and his cousins will be at tonight. Would you like that?"

Of course she would, he almost snorted at his daughter's reaction, she was bouncing off the balls of her feet. "Yes! Yes, can I go daddy? Can I please?"

Although he had already told Granger yes, he acted as though he was considering it for a moment before saying, "I suppose that would be alright."

"YES! Can we go soon, Hermione? I can't wait! What time does it start?" Granger was laughing at Katherine at this point and he couldn't hide his small smile at his daughter's excitement.

"Sure, it starts in around an hour. Go get a warmer jacket and gloves since we'll be outside for some time. I'll wait here and we can leave when you get back." Katherine was already running out of the kitchen towards her room at these words.

He then glanced over at Astoria who had not spoken during the entire encounter, Hermione finally looked over at her too. "Astoria," she smiled at her in a way that seemed to be genuinely welcoming, "I remember reading that you and Draco had a son and Katherine talks about him often, how is he doing?"

Astoria considered her for a second and smiled lightly at her, responding in equal fervor, "Scorpius is doing well. He's just getting past his terrible twos, it's driving Draco and me insane. He's hellbent on climbing out of his crib and wandering the house until we find him."

"Henry was similar, he liked to hide in cabinets at that age. It drove us insane too." Astoria laughed at this, he didn't know what the hell was happening.

"I remember Severus telling me that Katherine had managed to find her way into a large empty cauldron when she was two, he panicked for nearly an hour before realizing she had fallen asleep there," Hermione smirked over at him as Astoria told her this.

"That sounds like a child of Severus Snape's," and they both laughed. He genuinely was confused and was quite thankful when Katherine came bounding back in. _Women are strange._

* * *

Hermione arrived at Ginny's through the floo in her home, as she felt it would be more comfortable to Katherine than side-along apparition. As soon as they arrived and walked through the sitting room towards the kitchen, Rory and Henry came running in to see who had arrived.

"Katherine! What are you doing here?"

Katherine responded, almost shyly, "Your mum invited me and dad said it was okay."

Rory suddenly cut her way into the interaction, as Rory does, "You're Katherine? Awesome! Henry's told me so much about you. Come on, you have to come to meet my mum's." Henry gave her an apologetic smile as Katherine allowed herself to be ushered out of the room by Rory.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the kids. If anyone was able to get someone out of their comfort zone, it was Rory Lovegood-Weasley.

She followed the kids out into the yard and towards Ginny and Luna, Ginny waving in her direction as they approached. "Hermione! Glad you finally made it, we expected you ages ago. What've you bee-," she suddenly saw Katherine from the corner of her eye.

Rory didn't wait to be asked, "Mum! This is Katherine! Katherine _Snape._ "

Ginny smiled down at her daughter, "Hi Katherine, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Ginny and this is my wife Luna. I'm sorry if my daughter here has scared you any, she's a huge fan of your fathers so she gets excited at any mention of him."

Katherine nodded and smiled back, "It's okay, I'm a fan of my dad's too." Rory beamed at her. Hermione laughed to herself, this was way too good. Too bad Severus wasn't around to be embarrassed or roll his eyes about it.

"Henry, why don't you, Rory, and Katherine head out to the field with your cousins to watch the fireworks on the hill."

"Okay mum, come on guys." He gestured at them as Rory carried on a mostly one-sided conversation with Katherine who mostly only had room to nod and smile in response. They followed after him and Hermione shook her head at them as they went.

"So, are we expecting any other guests tonight, Hermione?" Luna asked serenely, peering around Hermione's shoulder as if expecting to see someone else with her.

Ginny snickered at her, "Yeah, any guests with long dark hair and a brooding manner, perhaps?" Hermione rolled her eyes but shook her head laughing at her friend.

"He didn't want to interact with any Weasley's tonight, he's very apologetic," she said in her most sarcastic voice.

"Oh, too bad. We would have loved having him!" Luna was always so oddly pleasant, Hermione could see how well they complimented one another with Ginny's jokingly forward attitude.

"So how'd you convince him to let her come?" Ginny looked at her quizzically, holding her cocoa close to her chest.

She shifted her weight, not facing them directly. "Well, I'm not really sure how I convinced him. I think he wanted her to come, and probably wanted me far away as possible…" Ginny gave her a confused look as she chanced a glance at them, "I basically cried on him at a pub tonight." She almost laughed as she said it, it sounded so unlikely but it was true.

"Hermione! You did not?" Ginny looked shocked and Luna was unresponsive.

"I did… It wasn't intentional, I was there writing and drinking alone and he came in. I ended up complaining about my life and then I just sort of lost it on him and started crying. I'm pretty sure he paid for my drinks, led me out, and then gave me pepper-up to sober me up. I invited him over here and he said he'd be fine with me taking Katherine… Oh, and I spoke to Astoria, who's really nice by the way."

Ginny gaped at her. Luna responded likely because of this, "Astoria was actually very pleasant in school, even to me. I always wondered how she ended up with Draco. Maybe he changed quite a bit more than we expected."

Ginny finally found her words, "Hermione, I know we encouraged you to befriend Severus Snape but we didn't mean treat him like us and cry on him the first chance you get. You probably scared the shite out of him, poor man. The only thing that may be your saving grace is the fact that he's raising a girl."

Hermione sighed, "I know, it wasn't a planned time for us to see one another. Completely unintentional and I'm blaming it on the alcohol for any future conversation that he may decide to bring it up in."

Ginny snorted, "Yeah good plan," she paused as the fireworks began, "It is really too bad he wouldn't come. Maybe over time we can get him to."

It was her turn to snort, "I doubt that."

"Just slowly ease him out of his comfort zone, it seems like that's working on his daughter." They had observed Katherine cautiously watch the other kids with their sparkler wands that had were lit with fire that changed colors until they burnt out. Eventually, Rory was able to coax her to hold one with her before letting go and letting her draw out in the air alone. She was laughing along with the rest of the kids at this point.

"Gin, I have a feeling he's a whole other ball game from his daughter when it comes to comfort zones."

"Is that a muggle term? I've never heard you talk about sports like that."

Hermione merely laughed at her friend in response.

* * *

 **January 7th, 2011**

"Your mother informed me you have an interest in Arithmancy. I took the liberty of purchasing a few beginner texts for you both. I'd like to start with the basics and perhaps we can have an ongoing project for simple equations. Aside from that, we will do all other controlled bits of magic that do not require the use of a wand. Potions and history of magic, specifically. Katherine has observed me brewing some, but I have yet to teach her how to brew. We will begin with extremely basic potions that should adequately prepare you for your first year at Hogwarts. You will at least be more prepared than most first years are, from my memory." Henry gulped, but Katherine was grinning…

Henry knew his mother had said he may be intimidating, but he didn't expect this at all. He was studying and learning more in the four hours he was with Severus Snape than he had ever in muggle school. It was exhilarating and exhausting. Katherine turned to him after they had finished copying down instructions for the base of a basic burn salve. "Dad's never taught me anything about arithmancy before, did your mum teach you about it?"

He nodded at her, "Yeah, she always said arithmancy was one of her favorite subjects while she was in school. She always considered getting her Masters in it, but she didn't see a need if it wasn't something she'd use for writing."

"Do you think your mum always wants to be a writer or will she get a different job?"

Henry pondered this for a moment… "Well, I don't know. I think she liked her job at the ministry but no one ever listened. She wanted to make changes that the older people there didn't like, so she decided to leave. I think she writes because she enjoys researching, but she seems like she gets bored sometimes. Especially right after she's finished a book and it's in the process of being published, she'll get restless and have an itch for something new."

Katherine shifted in her seat on the stool to face him, "Maybe she could teach, if the old people didn't like her ideas for change, maybe she could help influence younger people. I just think it's neat that your mum writes books. You think she'd like my stories?"

"She'd love them! She could probably give you ideas too, my dad's always talking about the mischief they'd get into as kids. Mum never mentions it, but dad says she got into more trouble than she lets on."

Before Katherine responded, a voice spoke from behind them that made them both jump. "Yes, your father had a habit of getting detention. Your mother got into trouble as a byproduct of being friends with the two meddlesome boys."

Henry looked abashed, when Severus added, "You seem more reminiscent of your mother, just choose your friends wisely." Walking towards them, he peered over their shoulders at their work. "You've done enough for today, I think. You may entertain yourselves until your mother comes to get you."

* * *

AN: Fall break gave me the time to write this, I wouldn't expect the next chapter until close to Christmas. BUT the chapter after that is mostly written, so expect a double posting around Christmas, in that case. At least cross your fingers. Love you guys! Please review!


	9. Chapter 9: Happy Birthday

AN: Happy New Year! I considered waiting to post this until our dear Snape's birthday, but then I'd feel bad. You should be getting another chapter very soon.

* * *

 **Chapter 9:** Happy Birthday

" _Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them."_

― Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

 **January 8th, 2011**

 _Henry let me know when you see this!_

 _I'm here, is everything okay?_

 _Yeah, I was just wondering if your mum could take me shopping for a birthday present for dad, it's tomorrow. Could you ask her for me?_

 _Sure! I'll talk to her now._

 _Dad's working on a new potion today so I'm sure he'll say yes to me going._

 _Okay, I'll go ask mum now._

He ran down the stairs two at a time and threw his head over the corner of his mum's study, didn't see her, so he skirted the corned quickly and went towards the sitting room. She was sitting on her chair, blanket wrapped around her, reading a new book she had received for Christmas.

"Mum?"

She made a sound of acknowledgment, the sound similar to the humming he heard come from her every now and then while she was cleaning. He gave her a moment to finish where she was. After she closed the book, he made his way further into the room as she shifted in her spot to give him her full attention.

"Mum, Katherine wrote to ask if we could take her shopping for a birthday gift for her dad. It's tomorrow, so she wanted to know if we could go today if we weren't busy. Can we please? I haven't been to Diagon Alley in a while, and she could see dad's shop."

His mum didn't shift any in her seat, but she did seem to be considering it. "What is Katherine going to tell her father?"

"I dunno, she said he's working on a potion today so she was sure he'd be okay with it. You could just say you were taking us out for ice cream and book shopping in Diagon Alley, she told me she's never been there before."

She stared at him for a minute then stood up from her chair letting the blanket fall back into it. "Write to Katherine and have her ask him if he'd be okay with her accompanying us to Diagon Alley for ice cream and a stop at Flourish and Blotts then. Let me know, I'll go and get ready."

"Thanks, mum!" He turned out of the room and ran back up the steps as quickly as he had come down, threw himself into his room and grabbed the notebook and pen off his desk, opening it where they had just been writing.

 _Mum said yes. She said to ask your dad if he'd be okay with you accompanying us for ice cream and a stop at Flourish and Blotts - that's a bookstore._

 _I'll go and ask now, thanks Henry!_

* * *

Katherine knocked at the basement door and waited for her father's response. She knew he was sometimes in the middle of making complicated potions so it could take longer for him to respond. He must have been at a decent stopping point because he opened the door only a few moments later.

"Is everything okay, dear?" He didn't seem upset at her interrupting him, but he never really had become upset with her unless she put herself in danger, like the time she had taken his wand when she was six.

"Yeah! I was writing to Henry and his mum and he wanted to know if I could accompany them to Diagon Alley today. He said that they'd get ice cream, maybe stop at a few other shops like Flourish and Blotts… Henry said that's a bookstore. Can I go please, Dad?"

She could tell he was not at all keen on the idea, she knew he had kept her from the local wizarding world. But if he didn't go, no one would know she was his daughter. Hoping he would come to the same conclusion, she stood waiting, fingers crossed behind her back with wide eyes.

"I suppose… it would be alright. Will I need to accompany you to their home or will they come and get you?"

She couldn't keep herself from throwing her arms around him, "Thank you, daddy! And I'm not sure, let me go ask!" As she turned and ran back to her room, she thought she saw her father's rare smile as he shook his head.

* * *

They went to the Snape's to get Katherine and she was the one who had answered the door, saying that her father had gone back to the basement to finish a potion so he wouldn't be seeing her off but trusted that she was in good hands. He noticed his mum's odd expression at this statement, but wasn't sure what it meant.

His mum took them back to their house so they could just floo straight into Diagon Alley. As usual, they went through her Editor's office, as it was much less crowded than flooing into the Leaky Cauldron… and he could guess why she didn't like to Floo into his dad and Uncle George's shop.

As they exited the small building marked as Charles Eliot's Publications, they rounded the corner to the main road of Diagon Alley. Henry watched with glee as Katherine's face morphed into awe. He knew it was nothing to some of the places she had traveled with her father, but Diagon Alley was much closer to home.

They made their way up the road slowly; he knew his mom was being nice in letting them stop at almost every shop window because Katherine had paused to look curiously in nearly every one. Usually she wanted to get to their destination quickly when it came to Diagon Alley, as many people would stop and stare at her or the occasional reporter would accost her.

Katherine started to become aware of this and turned to him, whispering, "Henry, is this normal?" She slowly turned her eyes to some of the people who had stopped as they were strolling along to ogle at his mum. It happened to his dad too, but not nearly as often anymore because his dad was always walking through Diagon Alley.

"Yeah, she doesn't go out in public much anymore so people tend to stare when she's sighted," he paused a moment in thought, "But you know, it would be worse if it was your dad, he hasn't been seen by the public in years."

Her face contorted some, "Right…" She looked uncomfortable for a moment before spotting Flourish and Blotts. "Oh! The bookstore. Can we go in?" She turned partially to face him and then back at his mum.

"Mum?" He peered up at her, she seemed to be in a dazed mood today. It must be the prospect of editing getting to her, he supposed.

"Of course, go on in, I'll be behind you." She gave him a nod of encouragement so he grabbed Katherine's arm and pulled her across the street.

They entered the storefront, it wasn't as busy as other times Henry had been. It must be the calm following the winter holidays. They wandered up a set of steps and into a section about ancient magical rites. As they were looking at the titles on spines, Katherine spoke, "Is your mum okay?"

"Er, yeah, I think so. She's been editing her book like crazy. After her last meeting with her editor on New Year's Eve I think she decided she wanted to add more or make a lot of changes, something like that. She hasn't talked to anyone other than me since New Years'."

"So all the more reason to come up with a plan to get our parents to spend more time together?" She raised a brow, smiling at him almost mischievously before adding, "Dad has been holed up in the basement for the past week working on some new potion."

"Yes! Potions and editing sounds like a good mix," he laughed and in an afterthought said, "But how? They both aren't exactly the most welcoming to people in their personal lives."

"All the more reason to push them together," Katherine paused, "You're right though. They are both pretty closed off. My dad's only communication with others aside from me is with my Uncle Draco and his family."

Henry nodded, knowing his mum was a similar way with Aunt Ginny and Luna.

In his silence, Katherine spoke again, "What if we just start by asking if they are friends? Because what if they are and we're just clueless kids, and if they aren't friends then maybe that will put the idea in their heads."

"That's a start, I suppose," he grinned, "It's just the gathering evidence stage, we'll figure out what to do from there."

Katherine grabbed a book off the shelf at random and turned to him in a dramatic swirl, "Exactly!"

* * *

They had just left Florean Fortescue's for some ice cream, despite the cold weather, when Katherine spoke seemingly out of nowhere.

"Hermione, are you and my dad friends?"

Henry's eyes shot up in surprise at Katherine's very forward positing of the question, he hadn't meant for her to flat out ask like that. But his mum only laughed.

"Yes, I believe we are now. Why do you ask?"

Katherine's smile shined at his mum's response, "I was only wondering. Dad needed a friend, even with me around. I think he gets really lonely. I'm really glad you and Henry moved to Cokeworth." Katherine's face dropped slightly, "I do wish we could all spend more time together."

His mum almost seemed shocked at Katherine's candidness but after a moment she spoke, "Well, I suppose that I will need to see to it that we spend more time together then, won't I?

They both exchanged glances and smiled at his mum, nodding fervently. Katherine responded, "Maybe this time my dad can make dinner, he's a great cook!"

He noticed the surprise written on his mum's face as they strode back towards her editors office to head home, birthday gifts for Severus Snape in tow.

* * *

He had finished this part in his potion earlier than expected, it needed to brew for several hours now, thus he fully intended on napping. Katherine was still gone with Hermione and Henry, and he knew that they likely would not return for some time given the hour and knowing his daughter's penchant for exploring.

Once he had entered his room and started to clean himself up, he heard a tapping at his bedroom window. Turning quickly at the sound, he recognized a familiar owl. Throwing it open, the bird flew in and landed on his dresser, hooting politely. He summoned a treat for the tawny and carefully untied the letter from it.

"Minerva, of course," he scoffed aloud. He knew she would continue her incessant requests.

 _Severus,_

 _Do come and pay me a quick visit, today if possible? The students return tomorrow and I have some unanswered questions I'd like to discuss with you. If you'd prefer not to discuss then simply come for tea with an old friend._

 _Minerva_

Rolling his eyes at the letter, he knew a nap was a much better idea, yet despite this thought he remained stationary for a moment before huffing aloud. _Fine. I'll let the harridan get her hopes up when I walk through those doors._

The tawny seemed to have read his thoughts, as it hooted as though excited and flew off out the open window.

His arrival was clearly expected, as Minerva was strolling down to the grounds upon his apparation to the gates.

It was a wordless exchange as she opened the gate and allowed him entrance, and they began to walk back up the worn path towards the familiar castle. The silence held for some time, until they made their way past the diverged paths that led to the Whomping Willow or the continued one to the Entrance Hall.

"I assume you and Katherine had a lovely Christmas and New Years?"

He nodded, "Christmas was pleasant. I spent New Years alone doing some work."

"Ah, did Katherine stay with Mr. Malfoy and his family then?"

He groaned internally, "Actually she spent it with the young Henry Granger-Weasley, I believe at the Lovegood-Weasley residence."

She hummed at him, "Excellent, I was hoping they had been spending more time together. Did Katherine enjoy meeting the Lovegood-Weasley brood? If I recall correctly, their eldest is quite a fan of yours."

He looked at her quizzically, "She spoke fondly of them all, though I haven't been made aware of any _fans_."

"Well, perhaps she's grown out of it since I last saw them. Young Rory spent a near hour questioning me on your heroicness and entire part in the war before Ginevra was able to pry her away." Sniffing, she continued, "Not a question about my part, but I suppose yours was more significant." She let out a laugh at his expression, as he knew he was showing his skepticism.

"I doubt that. Are you going to attempt to ask your questions or are you waiting for the opportune moment?"

She seemed to pull her thoughts together, "I am very serious on that account, Severus, I have told you time and again that there are many that view your part in the war as honorable and necessary," she let her comment sit a moment, but he refused to satisfy her with a response, so she continued, "How is Ms. Granger doing?"

"Surely you haven't requested me here to ask of her well-being when you could have asked her yourself."

"Well, not exactly. Actually, she has yet to answer my last owl, but I am sure she is extremely busy with her latest deadline approaching. I recall her saying she wanted her current work published by April I believe." They had finally made it in the castle and had sat in the Great Hall, rather than walk up to her office. She summoned an elf and requested tea and some snacks for them as they talked. The elf returned a moment later with a tray and bowed its head before disappearing once more.

"Yes, I believe she has been busy. I was surprised when she took Katherine for the day, they are currently in Diagon Alley."

"Hmm… I am glad she is taking the time to get out then, that is a relief. Do you think she is well aside from that?"

He glared at her, "Minerva, I have not made it a point to ask of her well-being on a regular basis. I do believe she has been quite stressed as of late for many reasons."

"Well… Very well, I suppose I will get to my point then. Do you think she would be interested in a teaching position here? Septima is planning on retiring next year, and I think Hermione would do well in the position. I know her writing has been mostly based on magical and muggle history, and I am sure she would love to see me put Binn's in a bin." His expression remained unchanged, despite her crack at the ghostly professor, "Perhaps she could offer an advanced History of Magic course, as Arithmancy is an elective course that not many students take past fifth year." Minerva posed it politely, but he could sense there was something else disguised in the question.

He paused for a long moment, "I will say that she has expressed that she has one more idea in the works for a book, but following that she did state that she would need a break or a new job," pausing as he picked up his cup, "Though I am not entirely sure she would be interested in teaching."

She had been looking at him in surprise, likely because he knew this much information specifically, as he realized it was very uncharacteristic of himself, so he shifted uncomfortably and repeated himself, "I am not entirely sure, you would do better to ask her yourself." He set his cup down watching the Scottish harridan, who seemed to be learning the art of manipulation rather well.

"Well, perhaps you could mention it to her, just to gauge her interest before I do reach out. I'd hate for her to feel obligated to accept, I know she used to go out of her way to please professors."

She did have a point there, and perhaps it would be a good career move for Granger. "I will find out what I can."

"If she accepted it, of course, Henry would not be around Katherine nearly as often. Perhaps you'd reconsider accepting the position I offered you."

 _Ah, here she goes._

"You can't possibly be using my child to attempt to manipulate me into accepting this job, Minerva?" He sneered at her, "If she were to accept it, it would only put her at Hogwarts during the school year. I am sure Katherine would survive for one school year."

"I am not attempting to manipulate you, Severus, just stating a fact. The position is completely open to you if you choose to take it, it is more difficult to find an Arithmancy professor than a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor nowadays. There are many that apply for the latter, but not many that I believe are adequate. They are mostly young Aurors that are trained but have not seen a day of action."

He was quiet for a period of time. She was right though, he was curious at how Katherine would cope with not seeing her friend for long stretches of time now that she had become accustomed to spending time with him, it would only be the one year though before they both started attending Hogwarts. He couldn't accept the job purely based on Katherine's happiness. He wasn't even sure why he was having this internal argument, Hermione may not have any desire to teach at all. Even if he had enjoyed teaching defense immensely more than potions, he highly doubted the parents of the students he would have would approve of him being the teacher. He could deal with the backlash, but he wasn't sure he wanted Katherine to deal with it.

"I will discuss your offer with Hermione, I will not make any other promises."

She gave him a long, calculating stare, "I suppose that is the best I could hope for. Now for what I really asked you here for," as she spoke, she waved her wand, conjuring up a neatly wrapped gift, "Happy early Birthday, Severus!"

He merely scowled in response.

* * *

Hermione returned home with the kids, allowing Henry to show Katherine into their storage closet for supplies to wrap the gifts they had purchased for Severus. She had not known his birthday was coming up, though she was unsure how she was supposed to know, now that she thought about it. He likely had no clue when hers was as well, Henry had recently mentioned Katherine's was early on in March. Henry's fell at the start of June, quite close to Rory's who had one at the end of May. Ginny and Luna often held their parties concurrently as they hated to have two parties with all the kids together within a few days of one another.

It was nearly four now, they had spent most of the day out. She was just about to retrieve the children, assuming she needed to get Katherine home soon when a knock came at the door. Walking back up the hall, she had already started to put her jacket on as she opened the door.

"Severus! I was just about to bring Katherine home, come in. They should be back shortly." She stepped out of the way to let him in.

He stepped in, more comfortably than the last time he had come into her home she noticed, in fact, he walked familiarly towards her sitting room as she followed, "It's quite alright. I actually just returned from a visit with Minerva and had not realized how long I was. I assumed if I was not home when you tried to bring her home that you would bring her back here."

"We actually just returned ourselves, good timing." Laughing lightly, she asked, "How is Minerva?" Taking her jacket back off the one arm she had started on, she laid it across the sofa in the sitting room and stood facing him.

"Quite well. She just wanted to irritate me for… prior to the students returning, I suppose. One of her favorite past times is to infuriate me, I believe."

She pursed her lips, "Yes, I'm sure she spends all year thinking of ways to do just that, Severus."

Before he could respond the sarcastic comment she could tell he was formulating, the kids came into view from the hall, "Daddy!"

Katherine ran in quickly, throwing her arms around his waist. Henry followed in and leaned against the sofa, holding the wrapped gifts they had spent the day finding.

"Katherine dear," he patted her back and noticed the contents of Henry's hands. He visibly sighed and stared at her, not angrily but resignedly.

"We got you birthday presents, you can't open them until tomorrow though!" She jumped up and down, grabbed two of the gifts from Henry's arms and pushed them towards her father. He took them gently and gave her a small smile, "Thank you very much, darling."

Hermione watched the exchange, using her knuckles to cover her smile, Katherine went on to say, "I wanted to actually get you something this year, instead of just making you a card. Then I thought, maybe Hermione can take me to get you something different! Oh, and I told them that maybe you could make dinner for them some time since you're a good cook."

At this she had to avoid eye contact with the man and literally started biting her knuckles, Henry even sensed the awkwardness of the situation and started looking up, as though he were examining the ceiling.

There was a long pause where she knew Katherine was looking at her father with her pleading, bright blue eyes. "Right… of course they should come over for dinner, dear."

"What about tomorrow? We can have a big birthday dinner for you!" Hermione felt bad for the man at this point so she tried to intervene.

"Well, I'm not sure we should make Severus cook on his birthday Katherine, maybe another time would be better." Katherine turned to her and then back to her father who similarly looked at Hermione as she spoke and back at his daughter.

She observed his resigned expression as he spoke to his daughter, "I would not mind if it's what you really want Katherine, but we should make sure that it is okay with them first." There may have been a barely discernible appreciative glance towards her, but he still gave in to his daughter's desires. Perhaps that was a typical father thing for their daughters.

Katherine turned expectantly towards them, and Hermione finally let out a laugh. "I guess we know where we are having dinner tomorrow, Henry."

Her son grinned and handed the last two gifts from them to Severus, "Here Professor Snape, these are from us."

He clearly hadn't been called Professor Snape in a while, but Henry seemed to recall her short lecture on how he should address him as such while he is instructing him as a student. This seemed to confuse Severus as well, as he cocked a brow and glanced up at her briefly before nodding and accepting the gifts from him.

* * *

 **January 9th, 2011**

The following day came quickly, much to Katherine's delight. She was thrilled at having Henry and Hermione over, Henry had only spent some time in their sitting room area which was also their classroom. While she waited, she had cleaned up some in the sitting room and sat down to read.

She had borrowed a book from the library recently that her father had said was a classic, but she had hesitated because it was a romance. They were never really her favorites, she enjoyed adventures and fantasies, but this Mr. Darcy was turning out to be an adventure in himself.

Her father was working on dinner when Henry and Hermione finally arrived, she answered the door, letting them follow her to the sitting room to wait for her dad. As they exchanged pleasantries, she noticed Hermione had just picked up her book she had sat down when she went to answer the door.

"Ah, so is it you or your father enjoying the work of Jane Austen?" She loved how Hermione was less reserved than her Aunt Astoria, who was really the only woman she was ever around. The casualness in which she held herself made her feel more comfortable around her and she was able to say things to her with ease.

"I am! I think daddy has read it before too, he said it was a classic. I really like Elizabeth so far, Mr. Darcy is growing on me some now too."

"Darcy does have that effect, he starts out as someone you dislike and distrust, then you intensely hate him for some time… but then he slowly grows on you as you gather more information… and Elizabeth is certainly one of the more relatable characters I remember loving as a child, reaching her level of pragmatism and independence was always a goal of mine." Hermione paused in thought for a moment before continuing, "You will have to let me know what you think once you've finished."

She nodded. "Of course!" As she spoke, her father walked in the room. Hermione handed her book back to her, she watched him as he viewed the exchange without commenting.

"Dinner is ready, I will set the table if you could show our guests to the kitchen, Katherine."

Jumping at once, she smiled at her father and followed him towards the kitchen. She noticed Hermione watching her dad curiously, she could tell he noticed her watching him but he seemed to be ignoring it. Katherine guessed she had never seen this side of her dad. He really was a good cook and Katherine knew he enjoyed cooking, but he wasn't used to doing it for people other than her.

There was some conversation as they ate and then they let her father open his gifts, two of them were books relating to potions. One was on rare fungi used in various healing potions throughout the Asian wizarding area, and the other was about the use of different types of cauldron metals to increase the effectiveness of potions. Hermione had helped in choosing most of the gifts, including a set of opal stirring rods.

Katherine had given him a new tea kettle set she had chosen from a storefront display in Diagon Alley. She appreciated Hermione questioning her on whether or not she was sure her dad would like the set but she knew her dad, it was funny to her how much Hermione did not know about him but she hoped with time that would change.

In fact, as she watched Hermione during dinner, she started to wonder something that would perhaps change everything in her life. After Hermione had said she had once desired to be like Elizabeth Bennet, she could definitely make the connections. Then she had begun to make connections to Mr. Darcy and her father, although she thought her father was much kinder than Darcy. This led her thoughts astray to something she knew she would need to discuss with Henry and soon…


	10. Chapter 10: Making Plans

AN: Small time jump to get into the swing of things! This is shorter, I had to split up this chapter and the next for my own clarity.

* * *

 **Chapter 10** : Making Plans

 _"She preferred imaginary heroes to real ones, because when tired of them, the former could be shut up in the tin kitchen till called for, and the latter were less manageable."_

― Louisa May Alcott, Little Women

 **February 26th, 2011**

Katherine was nervous, she had met a lot of kids at New Years but her father hadn't met any of them, but she wanted to have at least Rory over. It wouldn't hurt to ask her father, right? She walked in the sitting room where her father was reading and Henry's mum was seated on the couch writing, it was silent aside from the crackling of the fire.

Hermione had ended up here quite a few times lately when Henry was at his dad's. Henry had said that his mum liked letting her dad read over her work, something about having a good second set of eyes. Katherine didn't mind though, she liked that Hermione had been keeping her father company.

She cleared her throat quietly, "Er, dad?" He looked up from his book, marked his page, closed it and beckoned her to him.

"Yes, dear?" She walked towards him and stood rocking on her heels in front of his chair.

"I was thinking… I met a lot of kids at New Years with Hermione and Henry… and maybe some of them would like to come to a birthday party for me? I'll be ten and I think it's pretty important… and I've never had a party with lots of kids my age. Do you think we could at least ask? I'd be okay if they said no, at least I know Henry would be there."

Her dad didn't answer her at first. He was looking over her shoulder, Katherine turned slightly and saw that Hermione had looked up from her writing, she was biting her pen in her mouth but she looked like she was trying to keep from smiling.

"I will consider it dear. Go on up to bed, we can talk in the morning." Katherine knew that was all she'd get tonight, but if the laugh she heard come from Hermione as she walked to her room was any sign, she'd say she was getting a party. Grinning to herself, she skipped back into her room. She was so glad her dad was friends with Hermione Granger.

* * *

 _Severus,_

 _You have yet to let me know of Ms. Granger's potential interest in the position - I realize you are a busy man and whatnot but I am in need of a teacher (or two) for next school year._

 _Minerva_

* * *

"Exactly who are the parents of the children I am to be expected to invite…" He was exasperated, holding his face in his hands. How had he lost all sense of his privacy…

The witch was chuckling at him, quieter now that he had hushed her cackle after Katherine had left the room. "Well, the kids that are closest in age that Henry spends the most time with are Rory of course, Luna and Ginny's oldest." She paused, uncrossing her legs and leaning back in thought, "Then probably George and Angelina's twins, Fred and Roxy."

He groaned, only to her satisfaction because it caused further laughter from the witch. "Another set of Weasley twins. You are joking?"

"That is their specialty, but no I am not." Stifling her laughter, she continued to his dismay, "Bill and Fleur have two daughters that are ten and eight but I believe they are in France at the moment, so you're safe there. I think that's it for Weasley's, there are many others but out of those I know Henry speaks to the most, Rory, Fred and Roxy are your safest bet. I expect out of all the Weasley's, Ginny and George will be the most silent on having knowledge of Katherine Snape." He nodded, despite the tomfoolery of the Weasley twins, he had to give them credit where credit was due, they were obviously clever, they were just awful students. He supposed it could be worse, she could be suggesting the Potter's.

"Oh! Neville has a daughter their age too, she may be a year younger, I can't quite recall."

 _I thought too soon._ Looking up at her with an unfathomable expression, he was surprised she wasn't laughing at him again. Instead, she shot at him, "Don't give me that look, it makes you look your age in muggle years." He caught himself giving her a half-smile briefly before throwing a scowl to appear slightly more menacing.

"I guess that's out of the question, I'll write to Ginny and George then?"

"If you must..."

Following the infamous birthday dinner he had made for them and his reading over her work constantly, the witch had taken to spending much of her time here, even when her son was not with her. It did not necessarily bother him, but it was a development that surprised him. Not many people would willingly spend time with Severus Snape, at least in his usual experience with people.

Between their frequent contact with one another due to their children, there seemed to be an unspoken agreement of an odd type of friendship, one that was more focused on their needs. Perhaps he wanted help with a potion that he could have completed on his own but knew it would be finished in half the time with her assistance. Maybe she needed him to read over a new section of her book to ensure that her conclusions made perfect sense.

Regardless of the need, their owls to one another asking for favors had become so frequent that she had halted sending them all together, having just shown up to his home every now and then, such as this evening in particular.

Lost in thought and no longer paying any attention to the book in his hands, truly he had lost all attention following Katherine's request, he set the book down and looked into the fire. She seemed to notice but continued writing for a moment longer before putting her pen down.

"Are you alright?" She seemed to be attempting to read his expression, he knew this was difficult for someone that hid their outward emotions like himself but she sensed that he was off in some way. He appreciated this, it was reminiscent of Minerva's senses for his emotions, despite his comments on her being meddlesome in his life.

"Yes, just contemplating a few things." He paused, he had yet to mention Minerva's offer to her, and as this was what had been troubling his mind, it might as well be now, especially now that the witch was looking at him expectantly to go on.

"Do you recall my mentioning of meeting with Minerva when you took the kids to Diagon Alley." Hermione nodded so he continued, "She brought up a job opening in teaching Arithmancy, and I may have mentioned to her that you could be interested. I recalled you saying once you publish your final book you would be ready for a new job." She was staring at him, wide-eyed, clearly shocked at the pronouncement, but she did not speak so he went on.

"I also have a vague memory of you taking an OWL in Arithmancy, I would assume you took your NEWT levels as well?"

"I- well yes, I did. Arithmancy was my favorite subject. I never had considered teaching in my repertoire of talents though…" She was lost in thought herself now, he watched as she sat back into the couch, biting on her pen.

"That was not cheap you know," he said it, intending to be sarcastic but she merely seemed confused at first, before realizing he was referring to the pen.

"Oh shite, I'm sorry Severus. I do that with my pens often… It doesn't seem to show any damage on this particular pen though, perhaps it's the magic." She gave a sheepish smile, "Thank you again for it, by the way, it has been wonderful with my work."

He ignored this and continued back to the specific subject he had brought up, "As for teaching being in your repertoire of talents, am I to understand that Weasley, Potter, and Longbottom passed their OWL and NEWT levels without any extra _teaching_ on your behalf?"

"That is a good point," she chuckled. "Still, teaching entire classes to upper-level students. That's a world of difference to the, what did you once call them?" She tapped her chin briefly in false thought, "Ah, dunderheads, yes, the lovely dunderheads that I was accustomed to helping with when it came to homework and studying."

It was his turn to give a smirk, "You would be surprised that there is actually a small world of difference between those dunderheads and students that actually want to learn." She looked at him quizzically before a small realization set in with her, quickly as he assumed it would.

"You are saying _I_ was just as bad as Harry and Ron _and_ Neville?" He did not deign her with a response, simply stood and put his book up before turning.

"Teaching is not for the faint of heart, but it can be enjoyable, despite my lack of showing it in the years you witnessed. I did enjoy it much more prior to that time of my life, though my year teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts was much more enjoyable than patrolling dungeons to ensure Longbottom didn't blow up a cauldron."

He watched as she shifted her position in her seat, "Well, I suppose if Minerva reached out I may consider it… I'm still not sure that I would be best for the job."

"It is a safe and steady income. It would be a convenience to have you there when Katherine starts school. I admit I am nervous for the general public reactions to me having a child," he rarely voiced his concerns on this but it was looming. Katherine was indeed turning ten soon, only a year away from the fated eleven.

Hermione hummed in response, "If you enjoyed teaching Defense so much, why don't you go back to doing that rather than brewing for money? As you said, it's a safe and steady income and I'm sure Minerva would give you the job if you asked."

It was his turn to be uncomfortable, "If I believe the public will have a reaction to my having a daughter, I can imagine their reactions to an ex-Death Eater who killed Albus Dumbledore teaching their children."

At this, the witch shifted in her seat swiftly to face him directly, accidentally knocking her papers over in the process but she ignored them, "Severus the world thinks you are a hero. A few inane opinions here and there doesn't change the fact that you won the war for us. You nearly died, many times I am sure, but literally were left for dead and still were one of the single most important heroes of the entire war."

He groaned, aloud for once, and shook his head, "You sound like Minerva."

"Minerva is right! Wait…" He realized his foolish mistake at once, "Minerva has offered you the job of Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, hasn't she?"

"I don't see why that's-," he was cut off abruptly.

"You would be happy to have me there to watch over Katherine when you could be there yourself Severus! That's silly, you have just said you enjoyed the job, what is the issue?"

He was beginning to become angry now but kept his voice low for fear of awaking Katherine, "Do _not_ call me silly. It is out of concern for Katherine that I do not accept the job. You all may say the world thinks me a hero but I refuse to believe it. There are perhaps a few that are ignorant enough to call me a hero, but they are fooling themselves. I did what I had to do to survive, plain and simple. If I begin making appearances in public once more, I fear the wizarding world will torture my daughter through the media as they often do and she will be shunned. If I stay out of the picture, perhaps she can be separated from being my daughter and she will excel."

She appeared shocked at his irritation but did not leave as he thought she would, in fact, she approached him. "Severus Snape, your daughter will excel, with or without you in the public eye because she is your daughter and she is capable." He knew his face still showed malice but she was standing directly in front of him now. "The media dragged Harry's name, and my own for that matter, through the mud the years we were in school and we still excelled. You being in that school would make your daughter feel safer, especially if the media or others did start to hound her." She paused and added, "I will not argue with you on the fact that you are a hero. If that makes me ignorant, then so be it."

She had not cowered at him in the slightest; he had not lost his temper like that in some time and was grateful she had not stormed out, though he still disagreed. "I will not argue the point further. I simply wanted to let you know about the job opening, I apologize for losing my temper."

The witch raised both brows at him and turned back towards her seat, shaking her head slightly. "If Minerva contacts me, I will consider it. Now, will you read this last section before I leave, please?" She tossed her notebook towards him, he caught it against his chest, nonplussed.

"Right…" He took one last glance at her before seating himself and beginning to read over it. She had grabbed the book he had been reading and opened it to his marked place, _curious witch_.

He had only been reading her work for a few moments when he spoke, "I am not sure what evidence you are referring to by the Moors utilizing the earliest forms of blood magic…" It was likely mentioned elsewhere earlier on in her writing, but he did find it comical to watch her justify things when he found scruples in her work.

* * *

Hermione left not long after her lecture regarding the Moors, which ended with Severus giving her a simple nod and informing her that the work was acceptable, but she knew that was Severus-code for good work. They bade one another good evening and she walked home quickly, despite the briskness. It gave her time to clear her thoughts.

Teaching at Hogwarts… that was a career path that she had truly never considered. Going back to Hogwarts would be amazing though, she found herself missing little things about it over the years.

Walking in her front door, she took off her coat and headed up to bed.

The next morning she awoke, well-rested after having slept in some. She still had a few hours before she needed to pick up Henry from Ron's. After getting showered and dressed, she made her way downstairs for a quick bite to eat. As she ate her bagel, she heard a tapping at the window.

Unraveling the small scroll, she read the familiar handwriting of Minerva McGonagall.

 _Hermione,_

 _Hoping this finds you well, my last letter to you went unanswered and I had made the assumption that you had been hard at work with your book. I am sending another due to a potential interest you may have, after speaking to a mutual friend of ours._

She laughed at reading Severus referred to as their mutual friend but continued.

 _If you are at all interested in pursuing a Masters in Arithmancy, I would put Hogwarts funds towards the degree if you would agree to teach the subject here. You could of course start before receiving the Masters, I just know you would likely want to pursue it if you knew you would be instructing advanced materials._

 _We have had to take it off our curriculum in the past but I must say I much prefer it on our scheduling list of options for electives over Divination._

 _Please let me know of your interest or lack thereof at your convenience,_

 _Minerva McGonagall_

 _p.s. If at all possible, try and convince our_ _heroic_ _friend to consider the position offered to him as well._

* * *

 _Owl to Ginny from Hermione_

 _Gin,_

 _Henry's new friend has invited Rory, Fred, and Roxy to her birthday party on March 7th. Could you please discuss it with George for me? Just be sure he knows it needs to be kept quiet, for both their sakes. I will send you the details once you've discussed this with him!_

 _Love,_

 _Hermione_

* * *

 _Owl from George to Hermione_

 _Hermione,_

 _Nice neighbors you've found, I hear! Just let me know what time you want the demons, they're excited to come._

 _George_

* * *

 _Owl from Ginny to Hermione_

 _Hermione,_

 _Excellent! I like how you say Henry's new friend as if you don't have a new friend yourself… Rory would love to come, I've talked to George and although he found it hilarious he promised not to say anything to Ron, or anyone else really. (I'm pretty sure that's the only family member you need to concern yourself about though) Just let us know when and where and we'll drop the kids off. We won't hang around long, we might drop the rest of the kids off at Harry's and enjoy a night out!_

 _Love you!_

 _Ginny_


	11. Chapter 11: For Katherine

**Chapter 11** : For Katherine

" _We all know him to be a proud, unpleasant sort of man; but this would be nothing if you really liked him."_

― **Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice**

 **March 3rd, 2011**

 _Katherine, mom talked to my Aunt Ginny and Uncle George! Rory, Fred and Roxy are coming to your party this weekend. Mum said that she talked to your dad and that you'd be having it here. Do you know what kind of cake you want? Mum's not the best baker but we can try!_

 _That's great Henry! I can't wait. I'm not really picky, make whatever you think you can!_

 _Will do! Talk to you later!_

Katherine was ecstatic when Henry wrote her saying Rory, Fred and Roxy were going to come to her party. She was considering various things they could do, thinking of the magical party games that she had read about and knew she would need to discuss potential ideas with Henry.

Now, only days away, she had started to become nervous. Having only met Henry's cousins once, she was worried they wouldn't really like her. Rory seemed great, she was the outspoken one that had talked to her the most. Even though there were a lot of questions about her dad she seemed kind enough, but now she was wondering what if they thought she was strange? She knew she was shy. She had a hard time talking or playing with kids on the playground growing up. Until she met Henry, she had never had a truly close friend.

He was different, Henry had been polite and similarly shy when they met at the library. They had been looking in the same section of books and he had spoken to her about what she had chosen. Their shared interests made it easier to talk to him. His cousins may not be similarly inclined, she thought recalling their talk of Quidditch. Despite this, having other kids around her made her happy, especially when she could share the topic of being a witch with them.

Magic connected them. Even if she did have little in common with Henry's cousins, she was excited at the prospect of having magical friends…

They were having dinner at Uncle Draco's, Scorpius was asleep but she had been occupying herself with her thoughts while looking out a bay window. Deciding to put her thoughts aside for now, she pulled out her book and continued to read.

* * *

 **March 4th, 2011**

Hermione had felt guilty at her lack of communication with her friends, her guilt had increased twofold when she received an owl from Harry asking her how she had been. It was this that had resulted in a dinner with not just Harry, but Ron as well as they had all been fairly distant as of late.

She didn't enjoy sharing a secret with Harry that Ron didn't know, and she knew Harry likely felt this way too. Making sure she went out of her way to arrive early, she rapped on Harry's door quickly before backing up slightly to wait. He came to the door only a moment later to let her in.

"Mione! You're early, Ron's probably going to be a little late. There's a snack plate in the sitting room already." He walked with her down the hall, she took off her coat and sat it on one of the chairs before sitting herself down.

"Thanks Harry, where's Vanessa?"

"She took the kids out to see her parents, she visits them often," he sighed, "We decided yesterday that when James starts showing signs of magic we're telling them. We want them to still be able to visit often and the earlier we do it the better."

"Well that's good Harry! Not all muggles react badly to magic, and Vanessa's parents love those kids, I'm sure nothing will change." She grabbed Harry's arm, he did look worried. "Harry, don't stress about it now, James hasn't been floating around the house yet, has he?"

He laughed and shook his head, "No, no not yet. I think we have a little time." He visibly straightened and turned to her, "So how's Henry?"

"Good, he's been keeping himself busy since he's not in school all day now. Severus only keeps him a few hours through the week for classes and then lets the kids do whatever it is they do," she laughed as she said it because Harry's face was awful at hiding his astonishment.

He paused, she guessed he was making sure she wasn't going to say anything else that shocked him. "Well… that's good he stays busy… and S-Snape treats him fine, I suppose?"

"Of course not Harry," sarcasm oozing from her voice, "He's just the worst to Henry, that's why I keep leaving him alone with them."

He shoved her shoulder, "You know what I mean. He's not like Snape, the greasy bat of the dungeons anymore?"

Pursing her lips, she gave him her best mum look, "Honestly, Harry. It's not like he's the same person, it was mostly an act when we had him. He's more himself now I'm sure."

"Oh, so you're saying Snape's like a fluffy bunny now, is he?"

Cocking an eyebrow at him, she shifted slightly in her seat, "Do you want me to hit you?"

"I'm just kidding Mione… I'm guessing you still haven't told Ron since he hasn't shown up here livid?" He stood saying this, she supposed he was awaiting Ron's arrival soon.

"No, I haven't," sighing, "I hate to ask you not to bring it up either but I'd rather tell him on my own terms. I'm terrified he'll say he doesn't want Henry around Katherine. You know Ron, and I don't want to get into a confrontation about Henry. We haven't had to argue about him hardly at all since the divorce."

Harry gave her an understanding look, "I think you might be underestimating him. You'll have to tell him soon though, he's curious about Katherine since Henry talks about hanging out with her so much."

"I know… I'll tell him soon, just not today Harry."

As if on cue, a brief knock came at the door and before either of them moved, they could hear Ron let himself in. Harry approached the hall and turned to her and gave a brief nod, she guessed as a promise to not say anything.

* * *

 _Minerva,_

 _After some consideration, I confess I am very intrigued by the offer. I would rather discuss the matter more in person, if you recall I have a penchant for asking many questions and I believe that would be best suited for a conversation rather than a letter._

 _You are correct, I have been hard at work with my book. It is complete, but I have been making some last-minute edits. I had one more idea in the works for a book but perhaps becoming employed at Hogwarts would help with the research I had in mind._

 _As for our mutual friend, I am afraid I will not be much help on that front. I will try to press the matter further in the future, for now I'll let sleeping dogs lie._

 _We are planning a birthday party for Katherine if you are available this Saturday, it is at my home, the return address I've written on this envelope. I know how difficult it can be to get away from the school as Headmistress but I wanted to extend the invitation._

 _Hermione Granger_

* * *

 **March 5th, 2011**

Henry had finally finished setting up the dining room with his mum when a knock came at the door. Running to get it before his mum could say anything, he pulled the door open to let Katherine and her dad in.

"Hello! Mum and I just finished setting up the dining room. My Uncle George and Aunt Ginny should be dropping off Rory, Roxy and Fred soon."

They followed him up the hall, he could tell Katherine was excited to have a party of her own with the way she was bobbing slightly and the slight spring in her step as they walked. He heard his mum's voice call from the kitchen, "Severus! Could you help me in here a moment?" Henry watched Katherine's dad nod at them before walking the rest of the way down the hall.

Heading for the room with the TV in it, he wanted to show Katherine the wizarding games he had set up for them. His mum had given them permission to have all the games he knew she disliked, like wizard's chess and exploding snap. She even eased up on the restrictions she had on Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes items in the house, likely because she knew she couldn't stop Roxy and Fred from bringing any.

"Wow Henry! This is amazing, thank you so much for doing this all for me!" She threw her arms around him and gave him a bone-crushing hug.

Laughing and patting her back lightly, he pulled her towards the wizard's chess set his dad had gotten him his last birthday. "It's no problem, my mum helped a lot too. Have you ever played with your dad?"

"Yeah, he's really good. I think the few times I've won he's let me, so I don't know how good I am."

"I'm downright awful. My dad is amazing though, he played a giant wizard's chess match once when he was a first-year at Hogwarts. I think mum said that Headmistress McGonagall was the one who transfigured the pieces."

"That's neat! I wonder if Aunt Minnie can beat my dad…"

"I wonder if my dad can beat your dad." At this, they both fell back in laughter.

They had been playing for a few minutes as Henry explained more of the stories that his dad had told him about the adventures he, his mum, and Uncle Harry had in their first year at Hogwarts.

Katherine was wide-eyed, "My dad has told me a lot of thrilling stories but nothing that exciting! I wonder what our first year will be like…"

"Probably not that exciting, the world isn't as crazy as it was back then I think." He thought to himself, he wasn't sure what sort of bad things really happened. His mum never got the Daily Prophet like his dad so he only saw the 'bad' news on the weekends he stayed with his dad. It was usually things like people being arrested for selling illegal magical items or using magic on muggles to make money.

"Yeah you're probably right, but we can hope for a little excitement, right?"

"Definitely!"

She had finally beaten him, he groaned aloud, "See, I knew I was just terrible. I'll bet you've beaten your dad a few times, he didn't let you win. He doesn't seem like the type to do that."

Katherine shrugged at him in response, "Maybe," laughing for a second before her eyes widened considerably, "Henry! I had almost forgotten, I finally finished Pride and Prejudice, have you ever read it?"

He shifted for a moment, "Er, well, yeah, I may have." It was one of the things he refused to tell his parents, he loved reading romances and tried to hide that fact often. He did trust Katherine though so he didn't lie.

"Good!" She quieted her voice to a whisper, "So, I was thinking the night of my dad's birthday but had almost forgotten. We planned on making sure our parents became friends, but what about past that?"

He looked confused for a moment and she just stared at him with a smart grin when what she meant dawned on him and she nodded him on as he spoke aloud, "You mean, like getting them to _fancy_ one another?"

"Yes!" She said it louder than she intended, but it drowned out with a knock at the door.

They both stared at one another, unsure whether one of them should get it but they heard his mum walk down the hall and the sound of voices. After a moment, his mum poked her head in, "Henry, Katherine, guests are here!"

Pulling themselves up, they headed towards the dining room. His Uncle George and Aunt Ginny were standing with his cousins, his mum walked back in and Katherine's dad appeared from around the corner.

His mum cleared her throat, "Thank you both for bringing the kids! I'm sure they'll have a great time."

Uncle George grinned, "So you're keeping them the entire weekend right, Hermione?"

"Oh Merlin please don't do that to me," his mum laughed in response. He could see Fred and Roxy grinning mischievously; he knew them too well. Out of the corner of his eye, he could tell Rory was ogling Katherine's dad and he had to fight from laughing aloud at her.

His Aunt Ginny piped up, "Professor Snape, I don't know if you would believe it but these two actually could outdo the twins in mischief."

He watched Katherine's dad shift slightly, glancing at the twins, there was a short pause before he responded, "I suppose I will believe it when I see it, Mrs. Weasley."

Uncle George glanced down at his kids, "That's not a challenge to torment him, behave at your mum's standards, alright?"

Their voices echoed, "Fine," in unison. He snorted at them and Katherine was snickering and looking up at her dad, he could see that her dad was giving her a slight smile too.

"Well, we'll leave you all to it, I'll be back later to collect the demons," Uncle George said before ruffling his kids' thick curls, "It was good to see you again Professor Snape." Katherine's dad nodded politely in response to this.

Aunt Ginny nodded in response to this, "I'll head out with him," he watched as she knelt down and turned Rory's head to force her to make eye contact with her mum, he wasn't sure what she whispered to her but he guessed it had something to do with Katherine's dad because after Aunt Ginny stood up straight Rory's face was red and she was staring at the ground, " You all have a good time!"

As their steps echoed down the hall, his mum looked over at them all, "The cake should be ready soon, we will yell for you when it's finished!"

Henry nodded and they all exited the room. Henry looked over at Rory whose face was still a little pink, "What did your mum say Rory?"

"She looked up at him and over at Katherine, "Er, she said to leave your dad alone," she smiled sheepishly, "And to not ask him any questions about anything at all." She squirmed a little, "I promised but it's going to drive me crazy!"

Katherine laughed, "You can ask me questions instead, but I can't promise I'll know all the answers."

Roxy looked over at them as they walked in, "Katherine you wanna play a game of Gobstones? Henry is awful at it and I'm used to beating Fred," at this Fred shoved his sister in the shoulder and she grinned.

"Sure! I've never played before, but you can show me." They all gathered around to watch, as Roxy and Fred explained the rules and decided to show Katherine a game of them playing before she tried herself.

He wasn't sure if Katherine would enjoy Gobstones but as she laughed alongside Roxy and Rory when Fred got a face full of the foul-smelling liquid inside the gobstones he worried less about it. Letting his mind wander as they all observed the twins playing to their enjoyment, he considered Katherine's idea of their parents fancying one another.

It would be crazy… but Katherine was right. If she got the idea from reading Pride and Prejudice, she had realized his mum was a very stubborn, headstrong woman much like Elizabeth. As he considered her father, he could see the resemblance to Mr. Darcy, mostly in his privacy of their lives and his protectiveness over Katherine, similar to Darcy's protectiveness of Georgiana. It wouldn't help to analyze the characters' similarities to their parents though, he knew. They were characters in a book, their parents were very real and he was considering how well a match they could be.

"Henry? Are you okay?" Rory's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I was just thinking about something Katherine said earlier." At the mention of this, Katherine's face looked up just as a Gobstone splattered her in the face and they all broke down in laughter.

"So what did Katherine say earlier then?" Fred spoke up, curiosity filling his face.

Looking over at Katherine who shrugged, "We can tell them if you're not sure, maybe it'll help us get a better idea of if it's a good idea."

He considered them for a moment before nodding, "I trust them, they're good at keeping secrets."

Roxy rubbed her hands together, "Yes, I love a good secret!"

Katherine turned in her seat and pulled herself on the floor, Roxy did the same and they all were huddled in a circle now. Her voice had fallen to a whisper again, "Well, it started as us trying to get our parents to become friends with one another," Henry nodded as she spoke, and cut in, "Which sort of worked, but we're not sure if we really helped with that," Katherine grinned, "Maybe a little, but we think they are friends now for sure."

Rory smiled, "They seem like they are, and I heard my parents talking about how they were glad they had each other now so it would make sense."

Katherine continued at this, "Now we're thinking maybe they could become more, you know?" She let the comment sit like she did with Henry earlier, but the pause didn't last long at all when Fred blurted out.

"What, like roommates?" All of them were laughing now, except Fred, who looked confused as ever.

"No Fred," Roxy rolled her eyes and he watched as she patted her twin's head, "They mean they want them to fancy one another," she raised her brows as she said this and looked at Katherine and him as if for confirmation.

Rory looked like she was going to fall backward at the way she was bouncing, "YES!"

They all hushed her at her loud pronouncement, "Sorry… but yes, it's a great idea. I'd love to have Severus Snape as an Uncle." Fred snorted at this and Roxy shoved him again.

"Aunt Hermione could use a husband I guess, she seems pretty lonely any time she comes to the big family dinners since everyone is married," Fred responded after glaring at his sister for shoving him for the umpteenth time.

"Well, everyone but Uncle Charlie, but he's an outlier and shouldn't be counted," Rory spoke, and Roxy and Fred laughed.

Henry nodded, "That's true, mum is happy on her own though. I just think she's happy with Professor Snape around too, and they seem to enjoy one another's company."

Roxy suddenly thought of something, "Hey, but what if they did get married, then you two would be like brother and sister, right?"

Katherine's eyes lit up, "Yeah, I suppose so." She looked over at Henry, "I've never had a sibling before so that would be amazing!"

"Ah, it's not that great," Rory said, and Fred nodded in agreement. They all laughed again, so Henry decided to speak up.

"What do we think then, Operation Pemberley?" They all looked confusedly at him, except for Katherine who laughed in response.

"He means let's get our parents together," they all echoed an "Ohhhhh," before nodding and smiling in agreement.

* * *

The night had gone surprisingly well Severus thought, though the kids were all extremely strange during Katherine's birthday dinner. They had been staring around the room and sending pointed glances to one another, hardly talking the entire time they ate their cake other than to voice that it was good. _He knew his last-minute fix of a cake was adequate, better than what Hermione had concocted, at any rate, he smiled and shook his head to himself._

Children were typically suspicious but it was not something he was unused to, though he had briefly considered his daughter would be corrupted by having sneaky children around her he had finally admitted defeat to himself when he considered the types of children she would be surrounded by when she attended Hogwarts. It was better she is around children now, when she could confide in him, rather than thousands of miles away where they could only communicate by owl.

Ruminating on the rest of the evening, he considered the number of gifts Katherine received and he was thrilled at the happiness he saw on his daughter's face. Hermione remarked as much as the children left to spend more time together before they were picked up by their parents. It had become much less awkward between the two of them since their small spat about the teaching position, she had even mentioned owling Minerva back regarding her interest in the job and that she had invited Minerva to the party.

His response had been rather crude, but he knew she recognized his sarcasm at this point, and he noticed she had truly found him comical when he was attempting to be rude. "The last thing this world needs are the likes of you two obstinate Gryffindor witches in the same location at any given time." Considering the comment now, he knew it was one of his weaker insults, he would have to improve. He hadn't tossed out insults at a Gryffindor's expense in some time…


	12. Chapter 12: Unexpected Guests

**AN:** Look I'm back and only a week later! I hope you are all staying safe during all of this!

* * *

 **Chapter 12** : Unexpected Guests

" _Children must be taught how to think, not what to think."_

― **Margaret Mead**

 **March 29th, 2011**

Hermione had an extremely busy March thus far and as she mapped out the next few weeks, April was looking to be very similar… Following Katherine's birthday party she had finally built herself a final editing schedule. Twice a week, she met with her editor to discuss the changes she had made. There was not much her editor had recommended changing regarding her writing, but he had suggested reorganizing some topics more thematically rather than chronologically.

It was her agreement to this that had resulted in the regular hair-pulling editing sessions throughout the week. Friday had easily become her favorite day of the week; the kids had suggested she teach them once a week on arithmancy and various wizarding history directly from one of her books to demonstrate the differences in wizarding techniques around the world. The kids were allowed to choose a different wizarding culture from one of her books each week and she would follow it up with an interesting lesson.

Severus claimed that this was to give him a break, but as he still showed up to these lessons she had a feeling this was a sneaky way for him to critique her ability to teach as she was seriously considering Minerva's offer. He also let slip that this was likely better instruction of the subject 'History of Magic' compared to what they would receive when they did attend Hogwarts, and to that she couldn't argue.

The kids had also managed to convince Severus to hold lessons at her house on occasion, which he had surprisingly agreed to without a fuss. Thinking back on the conversation made her laugh, it was an evening she had picked up Henry from lessons at Severus' and the kids were still trying to figure out an arithmancy equation that he had written.

" _Katherine, try reading this in reverse, you're getting stuck in one spot when you can work your way back. It may be easier once you piece it together."_

 _Katherine had grinned at her and told her she would try, so she walked back and sat next to Severus observing the kids. They had become quite good for their age, even if these were very short puzzles._

 _Henry had finished first and handed what he had decoded to Severus, who nodded then passed his slip of parchment onto her. It was a very good deduction on what Severus had inscribed with numbers. A few moments later, Katherine walked over with her parchment with a similar decoding to Henry's._

" _Daddy, why can't Hermione help us more often?" He had raised both brows and looked over at her, but she had bitten her lip to keep from laughing so she had no comment._

" _I suppose she could help more often, but remember she has been editing her book dear."_

 _Henry piped in, "Mum isn't always editing, we could have lessons at our house sometimes so mum could jump in whenever she needs a break from editing, right mum?"_

 _She looked at her son appraisingly, "Yes, that is true, it may even help with the editing process."_

 _They were all looking expectantly at Severus now, Katherine's eyes seemed to be pleading with him and she cackled inwardly at the way this child had him wrapped around her finger. She felt very content in having a son at that moment, knowing she had been the same exact way to her own father._

 _From that day on, the kids had lessons at least twice a week at her house._

It was one of those mornings where she woke up much earlier than usual, so she headed downstairs still in her pajamas and robe, perhaps she would make herself and Henry a quick breakfast before Severus arrived for the kids' lessons.

As she was about to call Henry to come downstairs, she heard tapping on her kitchen window. A rather large owl with a scroll tied around one of its legs was using its beak to tap on it gently. It was a magnificent bird, but one she had never seen before; she cautiously raised her window and it perched gracefully onto the window sill, holding its leg out.

As she unraveled the scroll carefully, she looked up at the bird and spoke, "I'll be right back, I'm going to grab you a treat, okay?" It hooted at her in appeasement.

 _Ms. Granger,_

 _I was pleased to receive your owl. Though you may receive this last minute, I am available this evening to look over your research and discuss any questions you may have regarding magical practices here in Bangladesh. Once you have received this, I have arranged a portkey in your ministry to bring you to my location. It is a secure area for the time being due to some instabilities in this region, as you may have deduced in some of your research._

 _Best,_

 _Kasimir Parnassus_

He had agreed to meet with her to discuss magical cultural practices in India! She was ecstatic and hardly had time to think. It was this excitement that caused her to run upstairs, dress quickly and grab her pen and notebook without a second thought. She yelled for Henry to get dressed and told him he could have fruit and the leftover scones to eat. She was just about to ask Henry to let Severus and Katherine in whenever they arrived when she heard soft rapping. Half jogging towards the door, she threw it open and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Severus! I'm glad you're here early. Kasimir owled back and arranged a portkey to meet me at the Mainimati ruins in Bangladesh; I want to get there as quickly as possible. You're using my study again for their lessons today, right?"

He looked at her as if he was mildly concerned, and Katherine was staring at her as though she had never seen her before. She was confused for a moment until she noticed Katherine was looking directly at her head. _Oh._ This was the first time Katherine had seen her hair in its natural state and Severus had not seen it for several years now, as it was typically in a plait or bun, as she had become accustomed to keeping it out of the way over the years. Instead of responding to their expressions, she cleared her throat and looked at him complacently.

"Right, yes. We'll be staying here. You may go, if we leave before you return I'll take Henry with me." He turned into her study as Henry came running down the stairs.

"Bye honey, I'll see you this evening!" She hugged him quickly, waved bye to Katherine and sent a silent thank you to Severus. He nodded almost imperceptibly in her direction before she turned and walked out the door. Shaking her head as she walked down the sidewalk towards the nearest alley to apparate to the ministry, she pondered the familiarity and trust that she had built with Severus Snape over the past few months.

* * *

They had been using the large chalkboard in Granger's study, he had assigned them each a different arithmancy equation that they were using their books to solve. It was one of the longest he had assigned to them yet. They had already been at it for a few hours, following their usual lessons then a lunch break, he always left the arithmancy for last. Assigning them a difficult equation also gave him time to look around at the books she had in her study while they were working. He had grabbed a familiar book on healing potions that looked completely worn and as he flipped it open, he noticed she had marked throughout it on almost every page.

Her neat handwriting gave lists of alternative ingredients next to nearly every potion in the text. He noticed the replacement ingredients were not intended to improve the specific potion, rather, they would not render the potion completely useless, but the potion wouldn't be nearly as potent. Based on the fading of the pages and what he assumed was a mixture of dirt and blood on some of the pages, this was a healing potions text that she used when she, Potter and Weasley were on the run. It was truly impressive, he knew at times like then, one would make do with what they had. Clearly the witch had mastered that practice at a young age.

He sat the book down on the shelf, turning to check on the kids, impressed that they were even halfway finished with their work. The equation he had given them today was the equivalent to expectations of a 5th year to solve. Whether they got the solution completely correct or not, he was proud of their ability to continue working through difficulties. They had made mistakes, moved back a step or so, corrected their work, and continued on. He was going to suggest a small break when there was a quick succession of knocking at the door.

 _That couldn't be Granger back this soon, unless she missed her portkey, but she wouldn't be knocking on her own door._

Henry turned, seeming surprised as well, "Um… I'll get it." Severus nodded at him in response, Henry quickly scurried out of the room. He heard the door open, many voices, and then to his complete dread and dismay, Ginevra Weasley and Luna Lovegood turned the corner. It seemed like several kids were trailing behind them. This must be the infamous Weasley-Lovegood clan he had heard so much about.

"Professor Snape! I am so sorry to burst in like this, I hadn't realized that Hermione wouldn't be home. Henry said he was unsure when she would be back - everyone else is working or otherwise engaged, and Hermione is always my go-to." She paused for a moment, as if she was going to give him a moment to respond, but seemed to think better of it. He was somewhat frustrated but mostly shocked. There was also a sense of mild discomfort at the way their daughter was ogling him…

"You see, I'm not sure if Hermione has mentioned but we were in the process of adopting another boy, Harvey, and we have received an emergency owl saying he needed to be retrieved as soon as possible for his safety. They would rather him go to his permanent home now than another temporary one. We can't take all the kids with us to muggle court, as they are not registered in the muggle system. Rory, Jasper, Lysander, and Lorcan are capable of occupying themselves, Henry and Rory and are used to keeping an eye on the younger kids so you don't need to feel as if you need to keep a constant eye on them but I would be forever grateful if you could stay here and make sure they don't kill one another."

It seemed she had not taken a single breath in that entire spiel. He knew he could easily refuse, and yet he wondered if Granger would be upset with him if he did refuse. _Why did that even matter?_ Katherine knew these kids, she had spent time with them at New Years and the ogling one had become one of her new friends, he knew after seeing them all together on her birthday. Perhaps this would only be more of an opportunity for Katherine to spend time with other children. _Yes, the ever-optimistic Severus Snape he had become. How unfortunate._

"I - yes, that… I will. Granger will likely not be back until late, she is out of the country doing research for her next book," pausing, he continued, though his attempt to not sound rude in his questioning failed, "Is Molly or one of your numerous other siblings unavailable?"

Nearly grinning when she spoke to him, as if she had expected his response, "They are otherwise incapacitated, something to do with a first time ride on an airplane. Usually, Hermione is the only one I can find at home, which clearly isn't the case anymore. I am so sorry, but we do need to run." Turning to her kids, she gave them a stare that could have given Molly Weasley a run for her money, " _Behave_." She began to turn out of the room, it was at this moment he noticed that Luna Lovegood had yet to speak, as he was so caught up in the redhead's speech and their oldest child ogling at him as she had done at Katherine's party. The blonde woman smiled at him as she went to follow her wife, "Thank you, Professor Snape. We hope to see you again soon!"

They left the room as quickly as they came, only there were now four extra children standing before him than there had been before.

 _Bugger._

He stood for a few moments staring at the children before gathering his bearings.

"We can finish these lessons later," he spoke curtly at them both then looked directly at Henry, "Henry, is there another room more appropriate for children to be in than your mother's study?" He had not shaken off the uncomfortable feeling of the girl that had yet to stop staring at him but chose to ignore it.

"Yeah, we have a family room down the hall, it has a muggle TV and other games. Rory, get Lysander and I'll get Lorcan. Jasper, go that way." Henry grabbed one of the small sandy-haired twins by the hand to lead up the hallway, the girl finally peeled her eyes off him and grabbed the other twin. The eldest boy, who looked to be around seven or eight years old, ran out of the room quickly and up the hall. He merely peeked in the hall and waited as the rest of the Weasley-Lovegood clan exited the study. Looking over at his daughter who had not followed, he noticed she looked worried.

"You don't have to go in there if you don't want to, dear. You can keep working if you'd like." He knelt down to her level as he spoke.

"No that's not it daddy, I want to go in there. I was just worried about you." Why on earth would his ten-year-old be worried about him?

"No need to worry about me, I'm perfectly alright. You go on and visit. I'll be in there shortly to check on you."

She looked at him as if she wasn't sure to believe him but she still turned and left the room without another word.

* * *

Henry was staring back and forth between Katherine and her father during this entire encounter. He was sure he would say no and leave after Katherine had expressed how antisocial her dad was. To his shock, he agreed to it. Confused and surprised, and it seemed that Katherine was in a similar state because when he turned to look at her she was looking at him with the same expression he wore. After he left the study, he glanced back to see if Katherine was behind them. She hadn't come out yet, maybe she wanted to check on her dad…

Jasper had already cut on the television and was sitting in front of it, he and Rory led the twins over to the crate of toys they had in the corner. Lysander immediately started building the legos and Lorcan started playing with a mixture of dolls and action figures.

Katherine wandered in a few moments later and let out a breath, "Well, that was surprising."

Henry nodded, "I didn't think he would agree to it," looking over at Rory who had just approached them, "No offense Rory, but I especially didn't think he'd agree to it after you were staring at him like that." She shrugged in response.

"Mum didn't ward me off this time so I wasn't really thinking about repercussions, was I?" Pulling herself down to the floor and crossing her legs, she looked up at them expectantly, "Besides, that just proves he likes your mum, why else would he agree to it?"

Henry and Katherine exchanged glances before sitting across from her in a similar manner, Henry spoke first, "I don't know if that's proof but it is a little strange, isn't it?"

"It is strange…" She paused, "But your mum didn't really give him the opportunity to say no either, I guess."

Rory laughed, "That's just how she is, I think it'll be alright. They are pretty good at staying busy," she looked over at her brother, "Lysander might get a little loud but Jasper is good at getting him to pipe down, especially since he's watching muggle stuff."

Katherine exhaled slightly, "That's good at least, hopefully your mum won't be back too late Henry…"

Shifting his position to sit more comfortable he nodded in agreement, "Yeah, hopefully."

"In the meantime, why don't you two tell me how your plan to get them together has been going? Roxy, Fred and I were talking about it last week. We should start owling eachother ideas, but like in code or something in case one of them sees it!" She was bouncing on her knees now. Rory loved to connive and sneak around, he knew.

"Erm, well we did get my dad to start having lessons here when Hermione is here… They seem to talk more while we are in lessons. We all have dinner together often too, although it's usually quiet unless Henry and I talk."

Henry agreed, "There was that one night they wouldn't stop arguing about the discovery of thaumavores during our lessons and mum brought it back up during dinner. We left the room and they didn't even notice, it was pretty funny."

"It was hilarious Rory, they finally came to find us and didn't mention it at all, they were as friendly as ever to one another when we left," Katherine was laughing at the memory of it.

Rory bounced even more, "My mums argue over silly stuff all the time, I think that's a good sign."

"I'll be right back," Henry went and grabbed his connected notebook and a pen, "Here, we can plan out our code for our owls, I think we should start with code names for mum and Katherine's dad."

Katherine clapped lightly in excitement and Rory said, "Excellent!"

* * *

Severus had checked in on the kids a few times for brief moments, as they all seemed to be occupying themselves, Katherine smiled up at him each time he stood in the doorway. He realized it was becoming late with the daylight fading away and he should likely feed them all. Clearing his throat this time when he went to check in, Katherine jumped up and stood next to him.

"Hi daddy!" He patted her head as she stood up next to him, again the Weasley-Lovegood girl was staring at him so he kept eye contact with his daughter.

"Are you all hungry?" Katherine turned and looked at Henry who shrugged.

"Yeah, a little. Want me to help make something?" He lightly smiled at her, "No thank you dear, I can handle it."

He quickly made work of Hermione's kitchen, which he knew had little supplies. Simple sandwiches with crisps would have to do. As he laid it out in the dining room, he turned down the hall, and nodded at Katherine and Henry as he walked back to check in on them, "There are sandwiches in the dining room, keep your food in there, don't take it elsewhere." The kids all jumped up and headed towards the dining room, except for one of the sandy-haired twins, Henry went and grabbed him by the hand and pulled him along.

As the children were eating, he stood in the hall observing them talk and eat, laughing at one another. He truly enjoyed seeing his daughter around so many other children and at ease, he had only ever had Lily prior to starting at Hogwarts, not a large group of children to socialize with. It was only a few moments when he heard the door open behind him, he turned quickly and defensively.

Hermione strode in, confusedly looking at him, "Severus, I figured you would have headed home by now," she paused hearing noises of children giggling from behind him, "Wha-?" She walked further and stood next to him, looking into her dining room.

"Oh Merlin," she muttered as Severus looked down at her with an arched brow.

"Oh Merlin is correct, Granger," he knew the kids could not hear them over their own childlike discussions.

"How…? Why?" She pinched her nose before rubbing her temples. "I am so sorry, Severus."

"Weasley and Lovegood dropped them off in a hurry to retrieve another child from what I gathered. I reluctantly agreed, despite my better judgment." The woman was looking up at him, biting her lip, typically she did this when she was attempting to keep from smiling or poking fun at him. Though in this moment he knew she actually felt bad, he could feel the guilt pouring off of her, as she was tugging her hair nervously, mentally noting that she had braided her hair in its usual plait.

"Mum!" Henry had seen her and the rest of the kids looked up, the girl who had been ogling him all night was now looking at the two of them, eyes sweeping back and forth before speaking, "Hi Aunt Hermione!"

"Hi there Rory, Jasper," the latter had waved at her, she walked in the room further and ruffled the twins' hair, "Lysander, Lorcan."

As if on cue, a knock came at the door, Hermione walked out of the room and down the hall, "I'll get it, it must be your mums."

He could hear her talking in the hall so he led himself into the kitchen out of the way. Nearly twenty minutes had passed, he realized he could gather Katherine at any time and leave but he had yet to move.

He heard the noise die down and the door close and Hermione came in a few moments later, "I was wondering where you'd got to. The kids are cleaning up their lessons from today, they said they never got to finish their arithmancy," she looked at him, smirking, "After looking at the equation you assigned them, I'm not surprised. I told them they could finish it tomorrow."

He didn't speak for some time, finally he decided on what to say, "I will count tonight as debt repayment for saving my life, Granger."

She bit her lip again, this time he knew to keep from smiling, "You could have told her no, she would have managed."

"And you would have been cross."

She looked at him in confusion and he realized what he had said so he quickly added, "Katherine enjoys spending time with other kids as well, and they mostly occupied themselves so it was not much of a hassle. I taught school children for many years if you recall."

"Right…" She seemed to consider her response for a moment, "Well if you can put up with that, surely you can put up with teaching several schoolchildren for a few more years or so?" She looked at him with a half-smile. She was testing his pleasantness.

He curled his lip in disdain, "You have talked with Minerva recently, I take it."

"I have, we are meeting during the Easter holidays to discuss the job further… I do wish you would reconsider Severus."

He didn't respond to this but changed the subject, "How was your meeting with Parnassus?"

She didn't press him further on the subject and followed his change, "Oh it was wonderful! He hardly had any critiques and gave me a few stringent details I could add that I had not found in my own research. It was just wonderful Severus, I'm glad you gave me his name."

"Good, I am glad he was of some use," in an afterthought, he added, "Did he happen to critique your section on thaumavores?"

She huffed at him in response and his smirk nearly lifted into a true smile.

* * *

 **AN:** Please review, I love hearing from you all!


	13. Chapter 13: A Soul Departed

**Chapter 13** : A Soul Departed

" _Death must be so beautiful. To lie in the soft brown earth, with the grasses waving above one's head, and listen to silence. To have no yesterday, and no tomorrow. To forget time, to forgive life, to be at peace."_

― **Oscar Wilde, The Canterville Ghost**

 **April 12th, 2011**

Hermione eyed the familiar castle from afar with fondness, she had intentionally arrived earlier to pay Neville a visit. He had bought a house with Hannah on the outskirts of Hogsmeade a few years back, it had a large garden as expected; she had been a few times before and noted the garden had grown quite a bit as she approached the door. It wasn't often that she saw him and his family, and she could probably get a better idea of what teaching at Hogwarts would be like in this day and age.

Knocking on the door, she waited a moment before Hannah pulled the door open, "Hermione! Neville told me last night we should expect you," she backed up to let her in, with their youngest on her hip, he was babbling with a toy in one hand and a fist tugging at Hannah's hair with the other.

"Hold on, I'll go get him," she sat Ambrose in his playpen and walked quickly to a side door and yelled outside, "Neville! Hermione is here," she came back and sat down on her sofa sighing in what she recognized as exhaustion. "I hope you're done having these," she nodded towards her son. "The girls weren't nearly as needy as he is."

Hermione laughed, "I didn't plan on it, Henry is plenty for me. I see how busy Ginny and Luna stay so I know better."

"That's right! Neville said he heard that they had just adopted another little boy! That makes, what, five now?"

Nodding, "Yes, Harvey makes five. I just met him last week, he seems to be fairly quiet but he's only three and isn't quite used to his surroundings yet I think, Luna and Ginny adore him though. He's extremely sweet."

"That's good, Luna visited a few weeks ago and explained the circumstances surrounding his adoption," she shook her head, "Just terrible."

Hermione agreed, "It is, but I'm glad he is with them now. He'll grow up extremely loved."

"Absolutely! Oh Hermione, I'm sorry, let me just…" she got up again and repeated her earlier action of attempting to get Neville to come inside, "Neville! Get in here!" After a few moments, she heard him approaching the door then Hannah had scolded him when he nearly entered the house with his muck boots still on, she had to laugh.

"Sorry Hermione, I was distracted." His five year old came jogging in after him, she too was covered in dirt and Hannah was visibly distraught.

"Bella, go take a bath," she looked up at Hermione and shook her head, "I'm just lucky Camellia isn't inclined to play in the dirt too," she smiled at Hermione as she picked up Ambrose and went to leave the room, "I have a few things to get done, it was good to see you Hermione, stop by more often!"

Neville had finally finished cleaning himself up, somewhat, he was grinning and shook his head as his wife left the room, "She would love for you to move in around here, she was thrilled when I told her about Minerva offering you a position. Camellia would be glad to have Henry around, none of the professors or other neighbours around here have younger children."

"I'm seriously considering it, hopefully I will have a better idea after I talk to Minerva today."

He offered her a cup of tea, she shook her head and he sat in an armchair across from her with his elbows on his knees, thinking for a minute.

"Well, I think you'd be an excellent teacher, Hermione. You are the only reason I was able to pass a lot of my classes. It's not exactly easy, but it is extremely rewarding. These students are much more well-off without a Harry Potter in the castle," she laughed as he said this, "Most groups I have are intelligent bunches, and you'd be surprised at how much the house rivalry has died down since the end of the war."

At this, she did raise both brows and he nodded in earnest, as if he knew she wouldn't believe him.

"Seriously, the house point competition and the quidditch cup are the only things these kids get into tussles about when it comes to interhouse rivalries. You have a few bad eggs in every house, but in all honesty, it has started to equal out over the years." He paused in thought for a few moments, "The absolute worst child I have ever had the misfortune to teach thus far was in my first few years teaching, luckily he was only a 6th year at that point and I only had him another year after that. Guess what house he was in?"

She shrugged and before she could say anything he barked, "Hufflepuff! Bane of my existence, I told Hannah there had to be different breeds of Hufflepuffs for one to turn up like him." He shook his head at the thought.

Laughing, she started to consider the housing system in its present-day, "I suppose it can't be terrible compared to the rivalries we had. I had thought about my work on abolishing the housing system when Minerva offered me the job, I just know that will come up. I still think the idea has merit, but if they truly have relaxed to the extent that you say it has, perhaps I won't find it too terrible."

"That's the spirit! In all reality, I think you will love it, Hermione," he paused, in an afterthought added, "Minerva told me that she was trying to get Professor Snape to come back too." He said this without any real tone that conveyed how he felt about it.

"Yes, I know. She's trying to get me to talk him into it as well, I feel like it's something he actually would not mind doing but he is overthinking what the public will have to say about him returning."

He looked at her for a moment before responding, "I don't think he was a bad teacher, I wasn't the best student and he was extremely intimidating," she gave him a half-smile for support and he looked as though he had more to say but couldn't find the words.

"Neville, I understand. I found him intimidating as well, to be quite honest I still do," she paused and let out a sigh, "Did Minerva tell you he has a daughter?" His eyes widened slightly at this so she assumed that she did not tell him and so she continued.

"He has a daughter, Henry's age in fact. She just turned ten last month. They are the best of friends, and seeing Severus with her is like seeing a completely different person. I believe the war warped him into someone he didn't even know himself," she spoke with a fondness in her voice that she hadn't intended and Neville gave her an odd look.

"Well… I trust you completely Hermione. If you say he is a different man than what I remember, then I believe you. It was hard enough for me to come around to the fact that he was the reason we won the war purely based on Harry's statements."

She smiled, "I doubt he will take the job anyhow, don't stress on it too much Neville," she checked her watch and pulled herself up and he followed suit, "I should head up to the castle, Minerva is expecting me any time now."

"Of course, I hope it all goes well Hermione! We'd love to have you!"

With that, she gave him a quick hug and headed out to the familiar winding path that led to Hogwarts.

* * *

 **April 14th, 2011**

He had yet to respond to Minerva's owl - Hermione had not spoken to him about the job yet either. The women seemed to be intentionally leaving him to ruminate in his thoughts regarding the matter and it was infuriating him, though he could not place the precise reason for his frustrations.

It was an evening where the children had finished their lessons somewhat early and Hermione was editing. He taught them in his own home this evening after he expressed to Katherine that he had to finish a potion following their lessons. The matter of him teaching them at the Granger residence still befuddled him, the reasoning given by the children was strange at most and yet he had not discovered any ulterior motive. He shook his head at the thought of them having another motive. _They were ten-year-olds, after all…_

Minerva's owl had merely said she had a phenomenal discussion with Hermione and she hoped that Severus would give her encouragement to see she was capable of holding the job. _As if the witch needs my vote of confidence, she is well aware of her capabilities._ His thoughts had been shifting from one matter to another as he brewed, perhaps his frustrations lay in the distractions these witches offered to his mental state when he was _trying_ to focus on his work.

At that moment he suddenly stiffened, he was all too keen on the sense of being watched. The potion he had been working on was already at a stopping point but he continued to brew and relaxed after considering his wards. He knew no one of any danger could have entered his home, his usual reflexes were still in place after all these years, so he continued his work. He had a feeling who the elusive observer was, at any rate. _Distractions be damned._

Some time had passed when the distraction in question cleared her throat, he deigned her a quick glance.

"Sorry, I didn't want to interrupt." She had leant against the stair rail and was observing the makeshift lab a few steps down from the landing.

He too cleared his throat, "Not an interruption, the potion is quite stable at this point." She walked the rest of the way down and looked around, he stood quite still, watching her meddle about the makeshift lab he had made.

Awaiting her fated questions he had become accustomed to once more, he slowly walked around to a stool and sat. She was observing his potion curiously, and…

"I don't recognize it. Is this the experimenting you were doing for Astoria's sister, Daphne?"

He gave a slight bow of his head in acknowledgment of her guess. "The ingredients you have out… are for pain and… something with the mind? These here," she gestured at a few different ingredients, "Are mostly for memory reparation draughts." _Know-it-all._

"Yes," though he knew it was not a question. She looked at him curiously but he did not remark further on her observations.

"My book is nearly finished," she sat on a stool across from him, arms crossed in front of her.

Standing, he started to clean up the ingredients he had left out, "That is good news for you then, I expect."

"Yes, it is. It's the wait time that goes between completion of a book and the publishing that will irk me. That and the itch to do something else," she had clearly made herself comfortable as she so often did, slouching forward slightly with one hand under her chin.

He sighed, "It is not as if your book will not be successful, you could publish a children's series or something Gilderoy Lockhart-like and it would be successful with your name branded onto it."

She looked at him pensively, "That is true… Perhaps I should ask Charles to publish it under a pseudonym." He stopped what he was doing and stared at her.

"Why would you do that?"

"According to you, how else would I gauge the success of my book if people are only purchasing it because of my name?"

He stood silently for a moment, she did not seem angry, in truth, she seemed to be enjoying herself. There was a hint of a smile playing at her lips.

"I will read it and let you know."

"I still expect a grade."

* * *

 **May 7th, 2011**

Hermione had arrived to pick up Henry from Severus' house from their lesson that evening, but no one answered when she knocked. She knew he had bewitched the door, so it would allow her in, which still shocked her each time she was able to turn the knob. She stepped in and shut it behind her, making her way down the hall. She heard the kids playing outside from the open window in the kitchen, but she found Severus in his small sitting room. He hadn't moved upon her entrance and was gazing in the opposite direction with an indiscernible expression on his face.

She walked into the room slowly, setting her bag down on a chair. "Severus? Are you alright?" He didn't respond and she glanced at the table, an open letter was sitting on it, with only a few lines of writing on it. She didn't want to seem as if she was trying to read it so she looked back up at him. "Severus?"

He seemed to suddenly realize she was there and stood, "I apologize, I… Henry is outside if you would like to fetch him. I need to…" To her complete shock, he sat back down and put his face in his hands. He was clearly in distress… She knew what to do if this were any other person but this was Severus Snape. Steeling herself, she knelt down in front of him.

"Severus, you don't have to tell me anything. I'm just concerned. Do you need anything?" She hoped it came across as genuinely as possible.

He didn't look up at her but spoke quietly from his hunched over position, "How am I supposed to tell my daughter that her mother has died?"

"Oh. Severus, I-" He cut her off, standing again, and began pacing the room, she expected he had been doing this off and on since he had received the letter.

"How do I tell her that a woman she has known her entire life is her mother? A woman she only knows as a sick aunt that her father is trying to cure, do I even need to tell her that it is her mother?" He kicked a chair and she jumped.

"Of course I do! But how? She'll call me a liar, a terrible father. I'll have to tell her I-."

 _Oh._

She wasn't sure what made her do it, but the man was having a breakdown. Stepping in front of his path where he had been pacing, she put each of her hands lightly against his forearms to stop him.

"Severus, I have no idea what this situation is exactly… But you cannot say that Katherine would ever think you are a terrible father. I've seen you with her. No matter what, that child loves you as her father."

He backed away from her quickly, turning to face the opposite wall. "You are right, you do not know the situation." She was so sure that was all he was going to say, so she began to count her losses and turned to leave the room, she was sure he had been waiting for her to get Henry and leave anyway.

He began speaking in a quiet voice that initially conveyed no emotion to the story, she stopped in the entryway, unable to leave after he started.

"I adopted Katherine, at Draco's recommendation. Draco and Astoria had just married when they found Daphne." He braced one arm against a wall, leaning towards it, his tone was flat as he spoke, barely loud enough for her to hear. "She had been tortured beyond recognition. They… they were unsure just who had been the perpetrator for almost a month when the Aurors finally arrested _Dolohov_." He spat the name out, and Hermione cringed recollecting the man herself, she still had the scar from her 5th year.

"After Draco testified against him, he admitted that he had been the one who took Daphne, he said he hoped that Draco _liked_ what he did to his precious sister-in-law, but he wished it had been his wife instead, calling him a traitor to the cause." He turned away from the wall and began pacing again, never making eye contact with her, only the floor. His voice had altered into a familiar one, one she knew he took on when he was teaching.

"Draco and Astoria were stunned to find out she was pregnant, but Daphne was in no state to raise a child, her mental state was similar to that of Frank and Alice Longbottom. She had no idea she was pregnant and she was monitored closely under the care of a private healer Draco had hired." He had turned towards her, but was still looking at the ground… She realized her legs were shaking and she slowly moved to sit down in his armchair.

"Draco was concerned about his marriage lasting if they had a child so quickly after marrying. Astoria refused to let the Healer get rid of the child, she said that Daphne would want the child if she was ever able to recover. No one was in a position to argue what she would have wanted. Draco reached out to me, and I said no."

He rubbed his forehead viciously, murmuring now, she almost couldn't make out what he was saying, "I said no many times, and he begged. How could I possibly raise a child? I lived among the likes of Dolohov for years. I told him the child would be no better off with me than being put up for adoption." He reached down and snatched the letter off the table in front of her, causing her to jump again.

His voice returned to that of a teacher explaining important details, "Astoria claimed she wasn't prepared to be a mother, but she wanted to be a part of the child's life. They couldn't bring themselves to put her up for adoption."

She watched as he looked up and out the window, the kids could not be seen from this vantage but they could be heard playing. "And I said no up until the day she was born. I was constantly with Draco, I helped the private healer deliver her as Draco did not want anyone else involved. I was the first to hold her… and then I couldn't say no, whether I believed I deserved her or not." He flicked the letter towards her, it fell to the floor at her feet.

He hadn't looked at her or anywhere in the room but the floor or out the window the entire time he was talking. It seemed to be a trance that he was speaking from, a combination of anger and grief. When he finished, he didn't speak for a long period of time. She realized that she had sat in his chair, she ought to move… and then she felt the wetness on her face. Tears. Wiping them away quickly, she picked up the letter.

 _Daphne is gone. Astoria is not well, I would not advise visiting. Do what you think best for Katherine._

 _Draco_

Severus had turned to face her now. He looked at her, she knew her eyes were red as he made eye contact with her briefly. "I apologize for burdening you with my problems. I can collect Henry if you would like to gather yourself."

"No, Severus, I-." She wasn't sure what to say. "You shouldn't be alone. I can't tell you what to do but I can tell you for certain that Katherine loves you."

He didn't speak at first, she realized she still had not moved from his chair when he strode over to the soda and rather unceremoniously sat, rather than asking her to move. He wasn't watching her, perhaps he was digesting her words, maybe he had ignored her, or there was a chance he hadn't heard her at all.

Severus was different when it came to outside contact, even in observing his contact with Katherine when she hugged him he seemed restrained, as though it was always new to him. Hermione knew this and despite that fact, she was a tactile being. Out of habit of comforting others she supposed, she reached over to him and put her hand lightly on his arm.

"I apologize if I've overstepped, I'll go and get Henry. Please… just let me know if you need anything, for either of you." She dropped her hand from his arm as quickly as she had laid it and left the room, taking one last glance at the grief-stricken man sitting with his face in his hands once more.


	14. Chapter 14: Processing

**Chapter 14:** Processing

" _I thought I could describe a state; make a map of sorrow. Sorrow, however, turns out to be not a state but a process."_

― **C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed**

 **May 7th, 2011**

It was not something that he could talk himself through. He tried to recall the conversations he had with Katherine in the past regarding her birth, anything about who she was and where she came from. Despite his promise to himself to tell her when he felt that she was mature enough to handle the information, he had clearly failed in some way.

His thoughts wandered in an irritating direction, he had started to compare himself to the man who had the ability to infuriate him even in death. Withholding information was not something he had intended to learn from Albus Dumbledore. Shaking himself internally, he turned his attention back to his daughter.

Katherine knew that she was adopted, he had explained to her that her mother had been hurt by a dark wizard and that was the extent of it. She did not know whether her mother was alive or not, the few times she had questioned further, his responses became the frequent, "I will tell you when you are older." Astoria had asked him not to pass on the information until Daphne was well again. The alternative had never been discussed aside from between him and Draco, who always advised him to do as he saw fit.

Minerva was the only other person that knew the extent of Katherine's was the one who had helped him give Katherine the talk at the age of eight. This he had been extremely grateful for as a father to an adolescent girl; he wanted to ensure she understood no one was to ever touch her without her consent.

She had covered most things and Katherine being the ever-inquisitive young witch that she was had still asked more questions than he could have anticipated. He recalled leaving the room at one point as he felt unable to contribute to the discussion whatsoever.

Minerva knew all of Katherine's story and his own, even Draco did not know the entirety of his past by his own volition. Potter had revealed much of his past to the wizarding world but there were still things left unknown, his mother had not been the basis of his entire personhood. Having trusted Minerva with his personal history, he felt that having one full confidante set him apart from Dumbledore in at least that aspect.

 _And now Granger…_ She knew the most important part of him in what he had told her of Katherine's was deeply irritated he had let himself fall prey to disarming his emotions in front of her. It was something he could have handled better, but after he shut down she had taken her leave and he did not know if she would return.

He was terrified for his daughter, how she would take the information, how he would tell her, and now the added fear that Granger would not return had him nervous at the potential loss of her friend.

It had been a few hours since Granger had left and Katherine had gone up to get herself ready for bed. He stopped considering what could go wrong and pulled himself together. The truth. He owed his daughter the truth and that was the best he could give to her.

* * *

Katherine had been brushing her hair and sitting on the end of her bed, thinking about the plans she and Henry had made earlier that day when her father knocked on her door. She slid off the bed and walked to set her brush down on her dresser, permitting him to come in as she moved across the room, "Come in!"

She wasn't facing the door when he walked in but when she turned, he had sat down at the end of the bed. It was easy to tell that something was wrong but she wasn't sure what…

"Are you okay, daddy?"

He gave her the small smile that he often reserved for her and he patted the spot next to him, so she jumped up on the bed and pulled herself close to him.

"Katherine dear, I need to talk to you… about your mother." This confused her immediately, her father had never willingly volunteered information about her mother.

She tilted her head, "What about her?"

Her father seemed troubled in the pause before he responded. "I have not told you everything Katherine."

Unsure what to expect, she decided to stay quiet while waiting for him to go on. It was a rather long pause, and then he began to speak slowly and clearly.

"Your mother is your Aunt Astoria's sister, Daphne." He paused, she guessed to give her time to respond, but her mind was completely blank so he continued after a moment.

"Daphne was hurt by a dark wizard named Dolohov, he… he tortured her," he stopped, grimacing before continuing. "He… also touched her without her consent. You remember your Aunt Minnie telling you about what can happen when bad people do that, right?"

She nodded slowly, as the gravity of the words he said registered with her.

"I remember…"

"Daphne had you, and that is when I decided you would be safest with me. Your Uncle Draco and Aunt Astoria agreed."

"The bad man… Where is he now?" She wasn't sure what answer she was hoping for.

"He is in Azkaban, where he belongs."

They were both quiet for some time. Katherine was trying to fully digest the information that he had given her and she felt upset for some reason but she couldn't place why.

"Why are you telling me now?" She felt that there had to be more.

It was then that she noticed at some point he had grabbed her hand, having felt him tighten his grasp on it as he formed his answer, "Your… Daphne… she passed away this morning," he took a deep breath, "I wish…" but his response faltered.

Her lips went dry and she couldn't think of anything to say. It was confusing and she didn't want to think about it at all. She felt him pull her closer so she laid her head against his shoulder.

Letting her father hold her, she laid there for an indeterminate amount of time before fully laying her head into his lap. Eventually, she let herself fall asleep, her thoughts wading towards shadows of a woman she had hardly ever seen at her Uncle and Aunt's house.

* * *

 **May 8th, 2011**

After Katherine was in a deep sleep, he had moved her under to the head of her bed beneath her covers and went to his sitting room; it was now extremely late and he was pacing for reasons he could not understand. She had not been angry with him. _Yet._ It was difficult to think, to process, he couldn't focus. There was nothing to focus on.

Other than taking care of Katherine, his only other purpose these past ten years had been to create a cure for Daphne. It was still something he could devote time to, but he felt that his drive had been lost. It would not sit well with him if he did not continue to try… and yet he could use another mind, one like Joseph Descoteaux or even Gethsemane Prickle, a fresh look was necessary for his work. Yet Joseph was in America and Prickle… he was fairly certain she had started working for the ministry.

Briefly considering taking up his old bad habit of smoking, he shook himself. It would not do to pick up old habits.

His thoughts turned back to Granger. He should owl her, apologise… Yet he did not know what he was to apologise for. Apologies generally did not go well for him. In this jumble of tantalizing thoughts, he regrettably noted that it was not only Katherine he feared would lose a friend.

Ignoring that reflection of his thoughts, he went outside for fresh air. The moon was bright and the street was dark, he sat on the top step and stared upwards, trying to think of anything that would get his mind off the day. But he just kept winding back to ingredients he had tried in a potential cure already and those he had not… And if he did cure the after-effects of a long-term cruciatus, whether it be tomorrow, next month, even in two years, he feared he would always regret not finding it sooner.

Despite this, he continued to mull over anyone that could give him a fresh take on a cure. The older potioneers he was familiar with would not be of any use. He needed someone young to look at his work, he had considered letting Granger look over his work but she had plenty to busy herself with and it was not her area of expertise, despite her extensive knowledge.

Though Granger had been in contact with the potions professor at Hogwarts, perhaps he could be of some assistance. Minerva had said he wanted a mentor but that would mean returning to Hogwarts. His obstinate mindset had pushed against the very thought at every turn but he knew each time he brewed, he yearned for his old private lab at Hogwarts. It was not something he would admit to Minerva, however, but perhaps Granger could put him into contact with the man… If he knew him better, he could gain an opinion on whether he could withstand working with him.

His mind still tore down the idea of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts due to the recognition of his name, but he was not one to care strongly for other's opinions of him, it was still the fear for his daughter. This would be a decision he would make only after discussing with Katherine.

 _And Granger…_ as he thought this he stiffened at the tingling of his wards being encroached. That very witch was approaching his home from further down the road, though unseen in this light.

* * *

She approached cautiously despite knowing he could sense her presence once she stepped through his wards. Once she finally set foot on the short path leading up to his home, she called out to the man that she could see leaning against the front door, ignoring her and peering up at the sky.

"Severus?"

He made a hum of acknowledgment towards her but did not look at her.

"I just came to check in, I had a feeling you would still be awake." He did not respond. She thought he was going to continue to ignore her but he finally pulled his eyes from the sky.

"You came back?"

She was confused. "Yes, you thought I wouldn't? I mean, I didn't intend to come back this late, but…" _Did he forget that he told me his daughter's mother died?_

He now looked irritated and she was more confused than ever when he responded in a tone she had not heard in some time.

"You shouldn't have returned."

Now _she_ was irritated.

"You do not have to handle everything on your own Severus, I would have stayed earlier. I wanted to stay! I left because I thought that is what you wanted but I came back not just because I was worried about Katherine, but because I was worried about _you_." In her stubbornness, she sat next to him on the small step and she felt him flinch away slightly but he did not get up.

Feeling his gaze, she ignored him and waited for a response. When none came, she glanced at him quizzically then looked back down at her hands, she noticed she was shaking but it was not cold. She had been frustrated, mostly with herself. _A bad time to let out frustrations, she felt like she may get an old-fashioned lecture and detention to boot…_

He finally sighed, in what she guessed to be exasperation. "I apologize. Thank you for returning. I am not accustomed to," he paused, "...this."

"It's… I'm sorry as well, I should have stayed," she shifted her legs some to face him on the small stoop, "Did you tell her?"

"I did, I am unsure if it went well or not. She did not respond to much, she fell asleep not long after that."

"Processing things while you sleep always seems easier at the time, I am sure you will have a better idea of how she is feeling tomorrow."

She watched him, it was unusual for Severus to show any emotions but not only could she visibly see the pain on his face, she could practically feel the grief washing over him. Perhaps it was more than grief, she wondered if there was more to his reaction…

"Severus, you shouldn't feel responsible for this, you know that right?"

He rubbed his forehead with his palm, she felt his unease in his response, "I may know it, but that does not remove the feeling of it."

She tried to convey understanding with looks alone but it was difficult, and so for the second time that day, she put a hand on Severus Snape's arm in comfort. Though he may have flinched again, he did not move away. If she didn't know better, she could have sworn she felt him relax some after a few moments. They sat silently contemplating who knows what as individuals, but as a pair they sat peering into the night sky overhead, unsure what the future held.

* * *

 **May 10th, 2011**

Draco had been sitting in the same spot, glass in hand but yet to drink any of his scotch for what seemed to be hours. Severus was relieved when Draco had written the night following news of Daphne's death saying they could visit. Katherine had awoken the following morning with more questions than he knew answers, all about Daphne, which was to be expected.

He had spoken a few words of apology to Astoria on arrival, she had thanked him profusely for all that he had ever done and then asked if she could take Katherine for a walk. Thankful to oblige, he knew Astoria would be of more comfort to Katherine in getting to know the woman that her mother had been.

Clearing his throat, hopeful to shake Draco out of his reverie he also shifted in his seat as he observed his reaction. It worked somewhat, his head twitched in his direction as if he had just recalled that he was sitting in the presence of another. Staring at him until he made eye contact, Draco finally spoke, "Sorry Severus, I haven't slept much." He assumed he had been managing the news of Daphne's passing with the outside world while also empathizing with his wife, he did look dreadful.

"It is alright, I expected you had much on your hands. Katherine had… questions. She is walking with Astoria now."

"Good… good. Astoria rarely spoke of her sister when she was here. Since she passed she has done nothing but speak of their childhood together. It's been a change." He nodded, somewhat in understanding. The passing of his parents had been bearable, but in truth he had not been close to them, he rarely spoke of them to others when they were alive, much less in their death.

Draco spoke again, "Did you tell Granger?" He did not sound accusatory, but Severus knew he preferred to know who was aware of his family business.

"I did," leaving it at that. He did not think of her as the type to tell people that she did not trust. Draco seemed to agree with this, as his reaction was to give a curt raise of his chin.

"How did she react to Dolohov being the scum responsible?"

It was an odd question, Granger had not said anything about Dolohov. "I don't recall her responding one way or the other to that bit of information."

"Dolohov's the one who attacked her during the ministry ordeal in my 5th year, remember?" _Fuck_. He did remember, how could he have forgotten? He had been unable to attend to her as he had been summoned shortly after that entire debacle, so she had been sent to St. Mungo's. Luckily during his summons, he was able to discover the curse that Dolohov had put on her and passed the information on to Albus.

"She didn't bring it up, I had forgotten about it completely." He wasn't sure why it upset him specifically, Dolohov was responsible for the deaths of many that Hermione Granger would be familiar with. Her ex-husband's uncles, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Remus Lupin, Colin Creevey… That fact that she had nearly lost her own life to a curse of Dolohov's creation pained him.

"If not for Bellatrix, he would likely be labelled as the most deranged Death Eater ever."

"True." Severus did agree with this, Dolohov was extremely skilled at creating curses that would kill a person in the most gruesome ways imaginable. It was clear that the man had enjoyed viewing and causing pain leading to death rather than following the order to simply kill, in the muggle raids that he had been forced to participate in alongside the man that much had been clear.

"Well," Draco continued, "I suppose he is the most deranged one alive."

Also true, he thought.

* * *

 **May 20th, 2011**

It had been nearly two weeks since she had heard from Severus, and as worried as she was about him and Katherine, she was becoming worried about Henry. He seemed restless, and despite her explanation to him as to why they had not been seeing the pair, he still sat at his notebook daily waiting for Katherine to write, coming downstairs as soon as he awoke to ask if she had heard from them. It was causing her to rethink how well Henry would do for one school year without seeing Katherine often if she chose to accept the job offer from Minerva. Even visiting Ginny, Luna, and her brood many times in the past weeks had not remedied his despondence.

She had left Severus that night in agreement that he and Katherine would take time to mourn with Draco and Astoria, and he would reach out when it felt appropriate. In one of her rare trips to Diagon Alley, she had obtained a discarded copy of the Daily Prophet where Daphne's death was highlighted in a small obituary on the third page. Nothing about the man responsible or the existence of a daughter was mentioned.

Telling Henry to give it time was becoming an obsolete statement, he knew they were dealing with a difficult family situation that he himself had never experienced. Despite this, she had intended to tell him this for the umpteenth time this morning, when she saw a familiar owl at the window. Unable to fight the smile creeping up on her, she jumped up and let him in. Grabbing the scroll and reading the short note in earnest.

 _Would you and Henry like to come over for dinner?_

 _S & K_

She shook her head at the cramped, familiar handwriting. Grabbing her pen, she wrote back quickly, giving it back to the owl who hooted indignantly at her. "Sorry, sorry, here Atlas." Grabbing a treat from her shelf, the owl hooted at her in a more positive tone before flying out the window with a scrap of paper tied to him.

Walking out in the hall, she shouted up the stairs at her son, "Henry! I have news!" She laughed as she heard her son running down the steps.

"Can we finally go see Katherine?"

* * *

Katherine was ecstatic that some semblance of normalcy was being returned to her life. The days that went by without seeing Henry and his mum were okay with the company of her family but mourning a mother she had never known was not the best of times.

She had been upset, for a lot of reasons, but she was glad to be surrounded by family during all of it. They did not have an open funeral, Uncle Draco's mum Narcissa had come and a man that her Aunt Astoria had introduced to her as Uncle Gareth, apparently an uncle of her mums and Aunt Astoria's. Her father and Uncle Draco had been a great support, but it was her Aunt Astoria that had told her all about who her mum had been. All her dad knew of her was what she was like as a student in his house at Hogwarts, which wasn't much. It was interesting to know the subjects she excelled in, but she was glad to know about her hobbies, what she liked to read, what she had wanted to be if she had not been attacked, she had many many questions and most, if not all, had been answered.

But the necessity of Henry in her life was needed now more than ever, it was becoming unbearable to stay at Uncle Draco's house. She could only think of her mum while they stayed there, and despite the countless stories she had heard from Aunt Astoria about her mum, she was ready to go back home… She had finally decided to tell her dad she was ready to see Henry again and he had taken her home that same afternoon.

The dinner with Henry and his mum was wonderful, it was the first time in days that she felt she was able to think of something other than a war whose ripples were still stealing people away even ten years later.


End file.
